Myself and several others from the forums are trying to get a new tradition going and recognized. It started randomly, but now we are dead serious, so please read and infect others with this bizzare tradition!

The tradition of The Christmas Turtle consists of hanging a turtle ornament (home-made from a toy turtle if you're really dedicated) on your Christmas tree as a symbol of the Christmas spirit of joy, love, and giving of yourself.

Why a turtle? If you celebrate the Christian Christmas, you are familiar with the story of the birth of Jesus, right down to the animals sharing the stable where Jesus was born.

It is important to recognize and remember the diversity in God's creation. The animals accompanying many nativity scenes are wonderful, but God created so many more wonderful creatures. Why not the turtle? The turtle serves not only as a symbol of all the good associated with Christmas, but also as a symbol of the beautiful diversity in God's creation, in our bodies and our minds and talents, and in all of nature.

If you celebrate secular Christmas, then do it just for the randomness of the fun!

Make The Christmas Turtle a tradition in your house this year!

If you have a Facebook account, go here and join The Christmas Turtle group, and invite all your friends!

The unofficially official Christmas Turtle and Tim website

The Christmas Turtle on Wikipedia (They don't think it's official enough yet--let's fix that!)