Carrie Underwood Shares Family Christmas Tradition That Fame Ruined
Everyone has traditions. Even the most contemporary-minded people find themselves falling into repeated patterns of behavior.
Sometimes these traditions are silly things with scarcely any significance. The best traditions, though, are those that carefully considered, things we return to due to some deeper meaning.
They may arise unexpectedly. But we keep doing them because they truly matter.
Country music superstar Carrie Underwood is a person who understands the importance of traditions, particularly the ones we celebrate around Christmas. But she came to that realization once her fame stripped them away.
During an interview with Cody Alan on CMT, Underwood talked about how her hectic schedule had killed many of her favorite Christmas routines. “We’ve kind of lost traditions, which I feel a little sad about,” she said.
“We are always traveling, and none of our family lives here.” These traditions involved more than merely putting up a giant tree or wearing truly hideous, holiday-themed sweaters.
Underwood continued, “Growing up at Christmas, we would go to my grandma’s house. They lived down the street.
“We would go there, and all the kids, on Christmas Eve, would put apples, and oranges, and bananas in little paper bags. And, then, we would all go to the nursing home and we would sing Christmas carols up and down the halls and pass out fruit to all the people who didn’t have any visitors on Christmas Eve.”
Simple, easy, and utterly heartwarming. If everyone did something similar, the holidays would be a much less lonely time.
Alan himself seemed to think it was a stupendous idea. He chimed right in and suggested that Underwood revive it.
“Bring it back!” he exclaimed. “I’ll join the choir with you!”
But Underwood didn’t seem excited about the idea. In fact, she declared it impossible due to her fame.
“We tried,” she said. “One year, back home, and somebody who was at the place told everybody.
“All of the sudden there were all these people that weren’t members of the nursing home who were just there. It kind of backfired, but we did try.”
It might sound surprising that a bona fide star would prefer to spend her time in a nursing home come Christmas, but Underwood has always shown a down-to-earth practicality. According to US Weekly, she values her time as a wife and mother just as much as crooning on the stage.
“Balance is what it’s all about, no matter what your job is,” she said. “Being a mom, working and dividing your time.”
Of course, just because disruptive crowds have kept Underwood from her good work doesn’t mean others have to go lonely. Ordinary folks such as us can step up, and there’s no better time to do so than at Advent.
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