Jennifer Aniston Reveals Weird Christmas Tradition From Her Childhood
When Jennifer Aniston was growing up, Christmas was about more than gifts, sparkly decorations, and a delicious feast; it was also about dancing for her loved ones — not that she wanted to.
“When I was a kid, they used to make me belly-dance,” the actress says in this week’s issue of Entertainment Weekly. “On Christmas Eve. My dad’s side of the family is Greek, so I would dress up as a little Greek girl, and then on Christmas, after taking belly-dancing classes, I would do that. It had nothing to do with Christmas, even. It was just, ‘Let‘s humiliate Jen on Christmas.’”
Aniston’s father, Days of Our Lives actor John Aniston, was born in Greece. While the Office Christmas Party star was born in Los Angeles, she and her family spent a year living with relatives in Athens and Crete when she was a child.
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The 47-year-old has credited her Greek genes with helping her maintain a youthful look.
“My dad is 100 percent Greek; he turned 81, and he barely has a wrinkle,” she told Yahoo Beauty in 2014. “And neither does my grandmother, who was 95 when she died. But it’s also just water, drinking a lot of water, using really nice good products for your face. Don’t overproduct, that’s the other thing. Getting proper sleep is always important.”
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The belly-dancing has most likely gone by the wayside in Aniston’s adult years — although, to be fair, we have no proof of that — but she’s instituted a more enjoyable tradition. She and husband Justin Theroux vacation in Mexico with friends just after Christmas.
Perhaps she’ll entertain celebrity pals such as Courteney Cox and Chelsea Handler with a dance this year? Yeah, it doesn’t sound like it.
