Traditions!

The meaning of Christmas is recorded in the Bible - it is the birth of our Saviour as a babe in the manger in Bethlehem.  But for me, the spirit of Christmas is revealed through the traditions that we cherish from year to year.  I love every aspect of the holiday season - the special music, baking the expected cookies and treats  and this year the many casseroles stock piled in the freezer we had to buy to hold them all.  I love the shopping and before that, the planning of specific gifts for each person.  I enjoy to decorate the house and I love to see the decorations go up in stores and shopping malls, and I even enjoy the hustle and bustle that accompanies them.  I never tire of the gatherings with friends and exchanging small gifts.  I appreciate the opportunity to write our annual letter and am grateful for friends who keep in touch, even if just this once a year.

As our children have married and had children I am so pleased to know that they continue some of our family traditions at Christmas and throughout the year, but also that they adopt the traditions of their husbands, and start new traditions of their own.  It was wonderful this year to celebrate the traditions our kids grew up with in our home, and to share them with sons-in-law and grandchildren.  Here are some of our   special Christmas traditions:

Decorating the House

This is the first tradition to introduce the holiday season.  Brian carries the boxes of decorations into the house for me to unpack.  I always smile as I uncover each Santa from the boxes as if I'm renewing a friendship with old acquaintances, and then plan carefully where to place them (this year took special planning to make sure the unbreakable ones were on the bottom shelves).  Brian sets up the tree and attaches the lights (I think he even enjoys it and might never be converted to a pre-lit tree, but then it was a leap to go to a fake tree years ago).  This year he discovered that we must have left our lights in Saudi, so we headed to Walmart.  We couldn't find coloured lights so settled for small white ones, which it turned out, I really liked to accompany the many varieties of Santa & Father Christmas ornaments.  Brian also wanted to hang lights along the terrace and down the front steps.  Well after several trips to buy more lights for tree and terrace, including 3 trips to Walmart in Guadalajara, which is an hour away (and almost hitting a cow in the road one night) we had a beautiful tree with 800 lights!  And the terrace looked magical - just like he wanted.  

Gingerbread House

In the past we always bought a gingerbread house kit that we glued together with icing and embellished it with lots of extra candy.  Not knowing if I would be able to find a kit in Mexico, I thought I might have to make my own gingerbread pieces.  Imagine my joy when I found a kit on my first trip to Costco!  It even came already glued together.  We just had the fun of decorating (and eating of course).

Some people used to think it was crazy to eat the dusty house weeks later, but our kids never complained, and the grandkids enjoyed it just as much.

Festive Foods

It wouldn't be Christmas without certain holiday treats.  In the couple of weeks prior to the kids' arrival I spent several days stocking the freezer with our favourites:  Nanaimo bars, shortbread, butter tarts, Snowball cookies, Nuts N Bolts and the Christmas cake I wrote about previously.  I stock piled nuts and festive candies and special drinks.  Brian interpreted my instructions literally when I asked him to cut the Nanaimo bars squarely.  

One holiday treat carries the memory of Brian's Mum.  She always made the Almond Rocha for the boxes of homemade chocolates made and sold by the church members in Kenora.  It was her secret recipe but she shared it with Brian.  In the few years before her death she found it difficult to follow the recipe and know the precise moment when it was ready (she never used a candy thermometer) so Brian assisted her in making her contribution to our treats.  It really is more of a scientific evaluation than following a simple recipe (at least according to Brian).  Little did we realize then that in helping his Mum, he would learn the 'secret' method and be able to continue the tradition.  A few years ago Allison asked Brian to teach her and so it continues.  She brought some to share with us, but they also prepared a batch together.    The preparation is always accompanied by a lengthy discussion about the quality of the butter and the cooking time of the ingredients - or rather, at what moment the 'smoking' indicates it's ready.  I've never learned how to make it, but I sure love to eat it!

Christmas Carolling

None of us in our family are great singers, but for many years in Calgary I organized several families from church to go caroling in our neighbourhood.  We visited a few specific families, including some who were sick, elderly or possibly lonely.  The tradition was to gather at our home afterwards and share treats and hot chocolate.  It became such a tradition that typically in early December people let me know that they hoped I was going to organize it again and they wanted to be included.  The year we lived in Venezuela, we tried to simulate cold-weather clothing by dressing up in what scarves we could find (or improvising pj pants around our necks) and then driving to friends' houses to sing to them.  This year we surprised the neighbours on either side of our house, and then we got invited to stay for a brief visit so they could meet our family.

Advent Calendar

Because Christmas is more than a day, but lasts the whole month of December, we have always hung an advent calendar in our home.  I have never liked the ones with chocolate behind little windows, but have used the advent calendar to promote the religious meaning of Christmas to our children.  The one we had was a simple one I had made in a Homemaking Meeting before Allison was born.  It was a felt path mounted on a burlap background and a donkey moved along each day toward the stable at the top.  The kids took turns moving the donkey each morning.  A few years ago I found a beautiful wooden box advent calendar with little wooden figures of the nativity hidden in small compartments around the perimeter.  Each day a figure is pulled out and placed on the magnetic background.   I bought one of these advent calendars for each of our children and one for our home.  What a blessing this year to share the last few days with the grandkids.  

In the photo above, Gavin is placing Jesus in the manger scene on the 24th.  In the background, Erin is moving the donkey to the stable on the original advent calendar.  

Tracking Santa

Thanks to modern technology and NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command), it is now possible to track Santa's sleigh as he travels around the world.  From first thing in the morning, the excitement builds as his progress is monitored.    

Sugar Cookies for Santa

In addition to tracking Santa, preparations were made to provide him with treats when he stopped to fill our stockings.  The tradition of making and decorating sugar cookies for Santa was started by Allison in her home a few years ago and we all enjoyed helping out with this one.  I hope Santa enjoyed the cookies as much as we all did.  

The Stockings Were Hung By The Chimney With Care

Our fireplace isn't wide enough for 13 stockings but they were all hung up with care in order from eldest to youngest.  

The gifts under the kids' stockings above, are the Christmas Eve presents.  

Christmas Eve Pajamas

Each year my Mom provides a present to be opened on Christmas Eve, and it's always new pajamas.  This year the girls coordinated the purchase so the cousins would have matching p.j's.  

Christmas Eve Readings

Reading the Christmas story in Luke is an integral part of the evening on Christmas Eve.  Another story is one that I was given when I was only one or two years old called Davey and the First Christmas.  I've read it each year as a child myself, to my children, and now grandchildren.   The story, told in rhyme, is about a boy named Davey who cleaned his father's stable 2000 years ago.  Several years ago I made copies of the book so each of our children have adopted the tradition in their own homes.