Eric Church’s Family Tells a Different Type of Christmas Story

Eric Church is settling in to celebrate the holidays with his wife Katherine and son Boone (and a new baby still on the way!), and he says that they'll be continuing a family Christmas tradition started by his grandmother.

“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,” Church says. “I’m not going to lie to you. They were just heart-tugging stories about people ... who had something happen to them, something magical for Christmas, that had turned [their] life around ... whether it was a homeless person, or just anything.

“And 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,” he continues. “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.”

Church says that the tradition isn't always the most uplifting start to Christmas day, but he appreciates the stories because they help keep the day in perspective.

“I mean, it can be hard, you know,” he says. “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.”

Church's album 'The Outsiders' took home Album of the Year at the 2014 American Country Countdown Awards and was recently certified platinum. He will return to touring in 2015, including joining Kenny Chesney for select dates.

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