Cyber Adventskalendar-Day 14

Hello friends!

My first Christmas card arrived yesterday and it was fantastic!  Of course my cards are still in the drawer waiting to be taken out of their packages and my letter is still on the desktop waiting for edits.  Despite a big move to electronic cards I'm still a huge believer in the real deal.  Every year I think I'll be on the ball and get those cards out the door sooner but nope.  Oh well.  As long as things get done by Epiphany (January 6th). 

For many years of my early childhood my Mom would make our cards and our Christmas list always numbered in the 80-100 address range.  Some years she thought it would be a good idea to have us help in the prep work.  The year of 'stain glass' made with torn tissues was particularly epic.  Talk about child labor!  Then there was the dreaded post Christmas thank you's that we had to write.  I complained like a maniac at the time but in retrospect it was good training.  Correspondence is super important and a lost art.  Much like the use of Please and Thank You and the the proper use of the English language but that is a soap box for another day.

The thought of cards also dug up some other childhood holiday memories.  We opened Christmas presents Christmas Eve after church and we always had to take a family photo in front of the tree BEFORE we could open anything.  We weren't even allowed to open a small present to wet the whistle of anticipation.  It was torture at the time because these were the day so 35mm film.  The fancy camera had to be dug out and set up on the tripod and then the timer set etc.  It was purgatory for kids but funny in retrospect because I'm sure there are pictures where we all look super grumpy and not at all merry with Christmas spirit. 

Cookies were a big deal in our house and my Dad was always in charge.  There were rum ball, 'rat turds' (not sure why they were called rat turds because they were white but there you have it), mini fruit cakes, German anise cookies, homemade caramels, cookies with nuts and a cherry on top, caramelized nuts, spiced nuts and stollen.  Some of these cookies took a day or two to 'cure' and I remember trays of them lined up in the guest room.  I think all of these recipes were passed down from generation to generation and I can't remember a Christmas without them.  I have a sweet tooth and as a kid I would 'organize' the cookies in my mind and knew which tins to hit first.  Rum balls usually went fast with mini fruit cakes being the last resort.  

There was also the year as a tiny girl that I decided it was important to kiss all of my presents as I opened them.  Not sure why but it was extremely important at the time.  I also remember late game nights after opening presents, being allowed to drink my first spiked eggnog, a particularly horrid church service here in NYC my first year here-I thought we were preparing Jesus for burial, receiving brown paper bags filled with peanuts in the shell, hard candy and apples from the church as a kid, first discovering the movie A Christmas Story and reacting in horror as I discovered my husband hates it, my first Lucia at 600 Lorimer, caroling on the steps of Grandstreet Theater in costume, finally getting to be Mary in the pageant and being made fun of because I brought a naked baby doll (what?!  Jesus didn't have any clothes!), the endless school Christmas programs, watching the Baryshnikov Nutcracker on television and being freaked out by the mice.............

The list goes on and on and as the special day approaches I'm sure more memories will come back.  In some ways that is probably one of the most important things during this season-memories.  Tradition anchors us to our past and present and helps guide our future.  But, here's the deal.  If you have crummy memories or crap traditions it's OK to start new ones darlings.  Trying to finish knitting a sweater comes to mind.......

Buon Wednesday.