With Christmas quickly getting closer, I’m sure there’s plenty of holiday traditions you’re looking forward to that makes it feel extra special… those are the things that make this time of year magical.

Whether it be cutting down your own Christmas tree, baking cookies with your grandma, a certain holiday party, or any number of other things, I think those are the moments many of us look back on as some of our most cherished memories, but of course, there are so many people who struggle during the holiday season for any number of reasons.

While we should all find happiness where we can and celebrate everything good that we have, it’s also important to reflect on how many blessings we have in our lives, because so many people are struggling in so many ways and don’t have much joy at this time.

So that’s what makes one of Eric Church’s family traditions incredible unique, and I think, very important.

He recalled that when his grandma was alive, she would always come over and tell her family some of the most “gut-wrenching” Christmas stories you can imagine. He says they would often be about someone a hopeless situation, who experienced some sort of Christmas miracle.

But it wasn’t just some random thing she would stumble across a few days before Christmas… Eric says she would look all year something really special, and then read it to her family during a special breakfast:

“My grandmother, when she was alive, would always come over, and every year she would bring this Christmas story, and some of them were gut-wrenching. I’m not going to lie to you.

They were just heart tugging stories about people who had had…about a Christmas miracle, who had something happen to them; something magical for Christmas that had turned life around…whether it was a homeless person, or just anything.

She would always look all year long and find this story, and then we would have breakfast and she would read it, and it was just our family and we’ve carried that on.”

Eric says his mom is the one who does it now, and one day, Eric knows that he and his wife, Katherine, will carry it on:

“My mom does that now and she’s kind of taken it and she finds the story, and that’s something I’m going to do with my family. And Katherine and I have talked about it. It’ll be her turn to find that, and we have a big Christmas breakfast and we sit around and we share that.

It’s just a neat thing, family-wise, to have that and to always wonder what that story is going to be and what it’s going to be about, and sometimes they’re brutal. I mean it can be hard, you know.

You get up on Christmas morning and you’re in a good mood and they’re just gut-wrenching, you know, but it’s fun to put things in perspective, and it makes you think about people that aren’t as fortunate.”

I’m sure many of us probably don’t want to wake up and be sad on Christmas morning, but clearly, the tradition has stuck with Eric and made a big impact on him over the years.

It’s so easy to get caught in the hustle and bustle of this time of year, and I know I’m guilty of losing sight of what’s really important in terms of reflecting on all of the blessings in my life and being thankful for the simple things, like a healthy family and having a roof over my head.

I actually love the whole concept of this Church family tradition, and I would love to hear some of these stories because it sounds like they all made a real impression. It’s certainly not a Hallmark-style Christmas tradition, but it’s very real and meaningful, and focuses what this season is really about.

Eric will kick off 2026 on the road as he continues his 2026 Free the Machine tour into next year.

2026 Free the Machine Tour Dates:

Jan. 22 || Washington, D.C. || The Anthem || Caylee Hammack
Jan. 23 || Washington, D.C. || The Anthem || Caylee Hammack
Feb. 5 || Omaha, Neb. || CHI Health Center || Ella Langley
Feb. 6 || Sioux Falls, S.D. || Denny Sanford PREMIER Center || Ella Langley
Feb. 7 || St. Paul, Minn. || Grand Casino Arena || Ella Langley
Feb. 12 || Toronto, Ont. || Scotiabank Arena || Ella Langley
Feb. 13 || Buffalo, N.Y. || KeyBank Center || Ella Langley
Feb. 14 || Albany, N.Y. || MVP Arena || Ella Langley
Feb. 19 || North Little Rock, Ark. || Simmons Bank Arena || 49 Winchester
Feb. 20 || Kansas City, Mo. || T-Mobile Center || 49 Winchester
Feb. 21 || St. Louis, Mo. || Enterprise Center || 49 Winchester
Feb. 26 || Tulsa, Okla. || BOK Center || Stephen Wilson Jr.
Feb. 27 || Fort Worth, Texas || Dickies Arena || Stephen Wilson Jr.
Feb. 28 || Austin, Texas || Moody Center || Stephen Wilson Jr.
Mar. 5 || Knoxville, Tenn. || Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center || 49 Winchester
Mar. 6 || Greensboro, N.C. || First Horizon Coliseum || 49 Winchester
Mar. 7 || North Charleston, S.C. || North Charleston Coliseum || 49 Winchester
Mar. 19 || Birmingham, Ala. || Legacy Arena at the BJCC || 49 Winchester
Mar. 20 || Atlanta, Ga. || State Farm Arena || 49 Winchester
Mar. 27 || Hollywood, Fla. || Hard Rock Live || Kashus Culpepper
Apr. 3 || Greenville, S.C. || Bon Secours Wellness Arena || Ashley McBryde
Apr. 4 || Charlotte, N.C. || Spectrum Center || Ashley McBryde
Apr. 10 || Jacksonville, Fla. || VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena || Ashley McBryde
Apr. 11 || Tampa, Fla. || Benchmark International Arena || Ashley McBryde