One of the challenges I've faced as the mom of my own big family has been to decide what to do with the traditions I inherited and the ones I've heard about since. Truth is, if there were a contest scoring number of traditions, I would probably win. I love them. Traditions connect the past to the present to the future and, in doing so, are timeless. They add meaning and make things simpler, acting as tiny dictators insisting that things be done at a particular time in a particular way. And the more the better really.
One of my family's traditions growing up was decorating the tree on Christmas Eve. For most people, the idea of waiting so late seems ridiculous but you'll just have to take my word for it--it was incredible. Every Christmas Eve, we spent most of the day listening to Christmas carols--records like the Carpenters and such--and decorating the tree. Dad bought chocolate Santas from Fannie May, the candy company not the loan people. I loved the chocolate Santas. They were so pretty and perfect and we all hid as many as possible in obscure places on the tree so as to eat of our own private stash long after the ones hidden in plain view had been consumed. After throwing the last icicles on the tree, we all stood back, sighed, and said a collective, "this is the prettiest tree we've ever had". Then Dad spent a very long time vacuuming up pine needles. Dad's vacuuming played a prominent role in my Christmas memories.
Here at Casa Doyle, we have preserved some of my childhood traditions and added some of our own. We always have lasagna for Christmas Eve dinner for example. I don't know how that started but the girls look forward to it and I find it easy to execute a definite plan rather than dreaming up something new each year. We watch It's a Wonderful Life every year. The girls have a sister sleep over in Madeleine's room.
Growing up, there were many years when my imagination was bigger than what Santa brought. The stuff of Christmas was never really what carried the day. It was always, hands down, the tradition. I loved the ritual of celebrating Christ's birth in a particular way year after year. I still do. I miss Christmas at 2503 Lisbon Lane. It was simply wonderful.
I remember all those traditions -- like the middle of the night sibling Christmas party that went on for years before we found out about it. We're starting our own new traditions -- like graduating to an artificial tree and retiring the big colored bulbs in favor of the little white lights.
ReplyDeleteBut some things never change -- like the Christmas creche which I absolutely love: the first decoration up and the last taken down.
We miss all those decorations that fund new homes and trees when you all left home. But I still have some "memory ornaments:" the ones given by CCD students, counted cross stitch ornaments from Campfire Squares and from Aunt Susie. And I still have some that were made by Aunt Kim and my Aunt Dorothy. We also have new grandkid ornaments and a Jayhawk to go on the tree.
My tradition for today is making fruitcake. Haven't done that in awhile.