Franklin Graham says his mother, Ruth Graham, made Christmas a fun time in their home, but there's one tradition he hasn't continued.
During an interview with Pastor Greg Laurie, the president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, revealed that his mother loved Christmas and would decorate the house for the holidays and even pretend to be Santa Claus.
"I never could figure out why Santa Claus' notes always were in mama's handwriting," Graham told Laurie while visiting his church, Harvest Christian Fellowship in California, as a guest speaker last weekend.
He joked that he was about 20-years-old when he finally figured that his mother was writing the notes pretending to be old Saint Nick.
But "we never lost sight of what Christmas was about," he assured. "In the morning we always said a prayer before opening our gifts."
Graham also revealed that the matriarch of the family kept some of her own customs from her childhood during the holidays.
"She grew up in China and their tradition growing up in China on Christmas morning, they would have oyster stew," he explained. "I don't like oysters, they're slimy. I don't know why anybody wants an oyster but anyhow, we had oyster stew and none of us ate it."
Graham has four siblings, yet, none of them enjoyed that part of the festivities.
"Mama would cook a big pot and she would make it available but we all just went hungry on Christmas morning," he said.
