'Tis The Season

Penguins players got the best Christmas present they could have asked for with the news that the 2020-21 season is officially set to start on Jan. 13.
However, the holidays are looking a little different for them this year, with restrictions on gatherings due to COVID-19 and getting back to Pittsburgh in time for training camp, which opens on Jan. 3. But like everyone, the Penguins are adapting and adjusting with the circumstances.

"We actually bumped our celebration up this year because we were heading down to Pittsburgh," said new Penguins defenseman Cody Ceci.
In honor of the holidays, we compiled some of the guys' favorite traditions from both the past and the present.
CODY CECI
'Tis the season of giving for Ceci and his wife Jamie, who typically go to his parents' home in Stiltsville, Ontario on Christmas Eve.
"We started doing a Secret Santa-type of thing," he said. "We used to do gifts for everyone, but it's just getting to be too much. We're getting older and we're married now. Then we play a dice game where you can steal gifts. We do that at my parents' house and eat dinner there."
MARCUS PETTERSSON
The defenseman looks forward to a tradition unique to his native Sweden that actually started back on Dec. 1: a special Christmas Calendar show that airs 10-15 minute episodes on public television every morning until Dec. 24.
"It's more for kids, but everybody watches it," Pettersson said. 'You get up and you would watch it before school. We watch that a lot. That's every day."
Then, on Christmas Eve, it is a Swedish tradition to watch the 1958 Walt Disney PresentsChristmas special "From All of Us to You.' Or, as it is known there, Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul - "Donald Duck and his friends wish you a Merry Christmas" - or KalleAnka for short.
"We watch that at 3 o' clock on Christmas Eve every year," Pettersson said. "It's a Swedish thing. That's a great tradition too."
Last year, Pettersson and his girlfriend brought a taste of home to Pittsburgh by cooking a Swedish dinner consisting of Christmas ham, meatballs, Prince sausages, potatoes, and salmon, and will likely do the same this year.
JASON ZUCKER
Jason Zucker, who is Jewish, was celebrating the holidays virtually long before any of us.
Since Zucker would usually be playing hockey over Hanukkah - which is observed for eight days and nights starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar - he would log online to join his family back in Las Vegas.
"I would do virtual menorah lighting with my family back while I was out of town playing juniors or college, and then we'd try to get together for Christmas because I knew we'd have a break in the season then," he said.
As Zucker's mom Natalie also celebrated Christmas when she was a kid, they would incorporate a little bit of that into their festivities, though Jason estimates that about "99 percent" were Hanukkah-related. "We got to have the Eight Crazy Nights and have some fun with that stuff as kids," he said.
That percentage is a lot more even with his family now, as Jason's wife Carly grew up celebrating Christmas, so they do a combination of both for their children Sophia, Hendrik and Stella.
"We've been lighting the menorah here in Minnesota, but we also have the Christmas tree going," Jason said. "We're doing Elf on the Shelf and all that stuff. So we're kind of getting the best of both worlds for the kids."
BRIAN DUMOULIN
Another player who has started the Elf on the Shelf tradition is Brian Dumoulin and his wife Kayla for their 1-year-old son Brayden.
"It's been a lot of fun coming up with creative ways to hide him or think of creative things for the elf to be doing for Brayden to find," he said. "Me and my wife had a fun time starting that tradition. It's something that we'll carry on."
BRYAN RUST
Rust's mom Betsy comes from an Italian family, so she would bring incorporate some traditional Italian foods into their holiday meal.
"We would have a big lasagna and meatballs on Christmas," Rust said. "It was always a huge meal. All the family was together. That one was always awesome."
Now that he's married, Rust and his wife Kelsey have started a new tradition with her side of the family where they don matching pajamas on Christmas Eve and wear them through Christmas Day (and yes, their dogs Cooper and Oliver join in on the fun too).
"That's been funny to see, what kind of pajamas we get each year and the pictures with everyone in them," Rust said.
JOHN MARINO
The defenseman is another player with an Italian background, as Marino estimates he's about 75-80 percent Italian. Typically his family will host everyone on Christmas Eve at their home in Easton, Mass.
"Usually we everyone over and do the Feast of the Seven Fishes, the Italian dinner," Marino said.
KRIS LETANG
The defenseman's holidays also revolved around food.
"The main tradition was always to have a family dinner with a turkey, a giant ham with pineapples and sweet cherries and a meat pie," said Letang, who grew up in Montreal. "That's the tradition, just a big, big meal."
JARED McCANN
With the forward hailing from the same hometown as Justin Bieber, his 'Under the Mistletoe' holiday album typically plays at McCann's home in Stratford, Ontario.
"He's from Stratford, so I've got to represent," McCann joked.