Thursday, December 19, 2013

Holiday Traditions


"Some men are Baptists, others Catholics; my father was an Oldsmobile man."
- Ralphie, A Christmas Story

   Holiday traditions are the best, and the quote above is from one of ours (oh, and the baby on the right is me). Me and my brothers watched A Christmas Story for years, every Christmas, until we were sick of it. Even then we put it on as a tradition in our own homes. It's one of many that we've accumulated over time, and have brought with us to our own families we've started. The Wife has been a wonderful teacher of tradition for which I'm grateful. Coming from a broken home, I've been working on why I didn't like Christmas for a while. Nowadays, I enjoy the decorating, the music, the giving, and so on. I relive my childhood holiday traditions with fond memory now.

   My brothers and I used to all pile in my mother's bed before heading downstairs. She'd go down first to "check things out", and then ring a bell to call us down, as was the tradition when she was a little girl. We'd wrestle our way into the hallway, and down the stairs, climbing over one another until we landed in a heap at the bottom. It was vast amounts of fun, even up to the year our youngest brother's shoulder cracked the tile upon landing.

   Other fun traditions were the hunt for the perfect tree, cookies and milk for Santa, the reading of Luke  chapter II about the birth of Jesus, and such. My mother was always baking something and we took plates of goodies to neighbors and friends. I loved our big glass bulbed lights for the house, and for the tree. The glow enticed me to sit on the living room couch and just hang out. When I recently told my older brother that the excitement of my children is overbearing, he replied, "Really? 'Cuz you were the WORST!" I protested and he shot back, "You don't remember, 'Tomorrow's Christmas! I'm SOOO EXCITED!!!!'" I guess there was a time when I was up late listening for hooves on my roof, then up early to see what St. Nicholas had brought.

   I hope you have some wonderful traditions with you and yours. All my best this time of the year, and here's to an awesome 2013! I'm grateful for the friends I've made through the blogosphere, and send best wishes along with a digital plate of baked goodies.

J. 

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