December 9th, 2011

lunadelcorvo: (Xmas-Noel Angel)
Wow. The whole crazy, mish-mash holiday is a big ball of tradition and remembrance for me, so this might be tough to put in a list. But here are three of the nearest and dearest:

1. First, there is Santa Mouse. Inspired by my childhood love of the Santa Mouse books, my mom made a tiny little mouse (an erstwhile cat toy, I think) with a Santa hat to sit in the tree. Every year, Santa Mouse would bring one or two teeny gifts, which would appear in the tree beside him on Christmas morning. We have continued that tradition with my son, and a couple years back, I decided it was time for the original to enter retirement, and I made a new Santa Mouse (the one pictured at the above link). Every year, sure enough, a couple teeny presents appear in the branches of the tree next to him.

2. Cookies! Loads and loads of cookies: shortbread, sables, krinkles, bourbon balls, gingerbread - you name it! My son is my very able baker's apprentice, and we have a blast baking our little holiday hearts out.

3. Ornaments. Now, that may not *seem* like a tradition, but for me, it really is. My collection of ornaments, largely German blown-glass, includes ornaments from every generation of my family going back onto the late 1800s, with a very small few actually brought over from Germany by one Eleanora Augusta Alriche when she emmigrated. Each generation had added to the collection over the years. Sadly, a few years before I was born, a basement flood claimed a bit over half of the oldest ones, but I have almost all of those that survived. There is a mix of Victorian, deco, and a healthy dose of 50s and 60s 'Shiny Brite' kitsch. There are many I remember from my own childhood, and I can tell you not only which ones were my favorites but those of my grandmother, grandfather, even my great-aunts. So every time I trim the tree, it's a tribute to 6 generations of holidays.

There are many, many more; it really it the case that the whole holiday is wrapped in tradition (and isn't that how it should be?). We read A Child's Christmas in wales every year, and I take my son the the Nutcracker. We always made sure Santa answered his letters, relating tales of the happy chaos at the North Pole, much inspired by Tolkein's Father Christmas Letters, now becoming a tradition itself. And of course, music. I love almost all the older Christmas carols. Silent Night in German brings me to tears every time! I try to get my son to learn the words to some of the old carols, especially the German ones, and he tries, sort of. (Worst setback in this regard ever was a friend giving me 'Catmas Carols:' he knows the words to 'Collar Bells' better than 'Jingle Bells!') And of course, the food! Peppermint, cocoa, stollen (pronounced "shtullen," not 'stolen') and great-great-grandmother's fruitcake, eggnog, ribbon candy... well, I'd better save a few things for later posts; I have 14 days to go!
lunadelcorvo: (Xmas-Father Christmas Polar Bear)
Wow, after the one on the seventh, I'm not sure I could come up with another one! So many of the things I treasure most, ironically, are things that either belonged to my family, or were given in far humbler circumstances. That's not to say that I haven't been given a lifetime of amazing and wonderful gifts for Christmas, I have. And of course, so many of them were handmade - one never thinks of it, but the things that are unique really are the treasures.

So naturally, my mind goes back to being a kid, and thinking of all the gifts I got as a child: a handmade leopard-print fur bathrobe that I wore 'til all the fur came off and it was up above my knees, the Orca (killer whale) plush that my mom made after her own pattern, because I wanted one desperately and they didn't make them back then (Oh, how I loved Orky!).

Then, on a slightly different note, was they year my not-yet husband gave me box after box of the most dreadful clothes! Truly trashy, pink-n-sparkles stuff; it was awful! I tried so hard to be...politic, all the while thinking he'd lost his mind! And he let me suffer through every damn box, trying to find something nice to say with each one. Then he finally cracked, and told me that he wanted me to be able to go shopping for myself since he wasn't sure what I'd like. So, he bought all this stuff, so I could return it and have myself a shopping spree. He figured that was more fun that just giving me a gift card - for him at least! I'm not sure I recall a single thing I bought, but I still crack up when I think of that rascal sitting there watching me squirm!

So I guess, when it comes to favorite gifts, it really IS the thought, and the love, that counts!

Miscellanea

InboxIcons
Customize

Things I need to remember:
• Asking for help is not, as it turns out, fatal.
• Laughing is easier than pulling your hair out, and doesn't have the unfortunate side effect of making you look like a plague victim.
• Even the biggest tasks can be defeated if taken a bit at a time.
• I can write a paper the night before it's due, but the results are not all they could be.
• Be thorough, but focused.
• Trust yourself.
• Honesty, always.

Historians are the Cassandras of the Humanities

Tags