The spicy fragrances of gingerbread and cinnamon wafting through the house and the all-over warmth of a toasty kitchen with its oven working overtime. A gnawing anticipation of the special gifts that lurk beneath their festive wrappings. And the hushed sense of wonder and amazement during a candlelight service on Christmas Eve.
Christmas. The season of hope, the promise of life, the gift of love.
So many enduring family traditions spring up around this glittering commercial blitz that has stemmed from such a humble beginning. While at the first Christmas, light from a single star flooded the meager stable, today, thousands of lights flood the cavernous malls.
And today, many of us struggle to maintain the balance in our traditions between what is sacred and what is secular, what is older than the beginning of the world and what is newer than the X-Box.
Traditions that, once begun, are always expected. Traditions that often make life during the holiday season more complicated yet always make life during the holiday season more special.
From those I’ve talked to, I’ve discovered many of these traditions revolve around food. Well, no surprise there. But, it may be a surprise that the tradition is not always about an overabundance of exotic foods.
Of course, many of you wouldn’t miss your family’s Christmas Eve buffet, with 47 different hors d’oeuvres and 53 styles of hand-decorated cookies. But others, who just might be a bit more practical, or realistic – or tired – have discovered unusual yet simple alternatives to the Christmas Eve feast. I’m one of them.
My lazy night-before-Christmas meal consists of spaghetti and meatballs, raspberry Jell-O salad with strawberries mixed in and a birthday cake for Jesus. Although I make “real” spaghetti sauce, the idea was passed to me from my mother, who opened a can of Franco-American Italian Style because it was the easiest meal she could think of on a hectic evening.
The birthday cake was a yearly hit with our family until my youngest son, John, was born two days before Christmas. For several years after that, I think he suffered an identity crisis as we sang, “Happy Birthday, dear Jesus.”
A few friends of mine have similar easy solutions to the who-wants-to-fix-anything-that-takes-work-on-Christmas-Eve repast. Cyndie Andrews from Casco, grew up eating Chinese food on that evening each year. She said Chinese restaurants are always open and you just have to unfasten the cartons. Yes, Cyndie, but do they deliver out in the wilds of Maine?
Another friend serves cream of tomato soup on the big evening. Wendy Munsell of New Gloucester says the soup is made more interesting by topping it with real whipped cream, whipped with salt instead of sugar. That’s one way to season the season.
Preparing special foods with special children can begin a lasting and memorable tradition. Jessie Grearson of Falmouth, makes a coffeecake with her daughters every year. It is the girls’ job to grind the cardamom that flavors this scrumptious treat.
And Karen Secord, of Windham, bakes between 35 and 40 loaves of homemade cinnamon bread each Christmas season. When her own children were younger, they helped out but now she “borrows” a niece or nephew to fill the important position. She says they take the whole day and make sure to create as much mess as possible.
Also when their children were younger, the Secord family used to use the nativity figures to enact the journey to Bethlehem. Beginning a week before Christmas, Karen and the children would move Mary, Joseph and the donkey daily from one room of the house to the next to symbolize their travels from Egypt to Bethlehem.
The children had to take turns moving the figures – like most kids must take turns riding in the front seat of the car – until, on Christmas Eve, they finally arrived at the stable, set up with the animals and the innkeeper.
On Christmas morning, the Secord children would rush to the stable first thing to see if the baby Jesus was there. In fact, Karen’s daughter Cassie for years was convinced that the actual birth took place yearly within the walls of two-foot-square stable.
Some families have traditional presents that are expected every Christmas. For example, my kids know that the one present they’re allowed to open on Christmas Eve will always be a new pair of pajamas. But knowing doesn’t spoil the surprise. One year, when no one really needed new p.j.s, I warned them in advance that we were changing the tradition but they protested so vigorously that I relented.
Louise Lester, town clerk of Raymond, says her family always gives “gosh presents” – presents, usually practical, that make you say, “oh, my gosh.”
And my friend Nancy Ferrin and her family from Derry, N.H. – I’m slipping them in even though they’re not from the Lakes Region – give “pinch presents” every Christmas Eve. As you might expect from the name, a “pinch present” must be pinched by its recipient to determine, if possible, what is inside the gift wrap. One year, Nancy’s mother wrapped up a cheese ball. When they’d finally guessed, probably from the ooze that squeezed out from the paper like Play Dough, it was beyond edible.
And I grew up with a strange but fun tradition. Every year since I was three years old, I have received a windup toy in my Christmas stocking. You can imagine how many windups I own now.
When I got married, the chore, I mean the joy, of buying these windups passed to my husband, who continues the tradition even today. We bring them out only at Christmastime and then they are packed away with the other decorations until the next year.
But perhaps the most special tradition I’ve come across is one that is kept private. One friend I have (and I am told that I am the only person who knows) chooses someone who she feels “has been very giving of the Lord all year” and tries to bless him or her with a monetary gift or something special that the person wouldn’t have otherwise.
During this special time of year, may your days be merry and bright and may all your Christmas traditions be just right.
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