Christmas Traditions

M and I have had a nice few days here in P-Burgh with our family. My sister came in from California, and I actually saw my brother several times(he lives here, but is very busy with school and work so we hardly ever see each other). It was a holiday filled with traditions, which I think is something sorely lacking for many Americans these days.

We kicked things off with my parents' annual Canadian wine tasting dinner on Friday. For the past few years, they have visited the Niagara region in the fall, and brought back a few bottles to share with us at Christmas time. My dad made his famous garlic paste, and we feasted on fajitas. I like this relatively new tradition, because it gives me a chance to visit with just my parents and siblings and their significant others.

Every year my youngest cousins come over to my parents' house on the 23rd (Christmas Eve Eve, as we like to call it), and we bake cookies, decorate, and generally entertain them. Originally, it gave my aunt and uncle a chance to get some last minute shopping done or just enjoy some time to themselves. Now it is a way for my sister and I to spend some time with them, since we don't see them all that often during the year. This year, when I went up to my parents' place I found that very little decorating had been done and no cookies had been baked. Instead, my dad, Cassie, Kelly and Danna were hunched over 500 puzzle pieces scattered across the kitchen table. Aunt Elaine soon arrived, although she provided mainly emotional support for the puzzlers, taking the very sane position that the pieces were too small, too numerous and too shiny. The glare from these glittering pieces was enough to drive one mad, which was very nearly the result by late afternoon on Christmas Eve.

As we put the puzzle together, the girls reminisced about other adventures from years past. My sister and I used to have an apartment in Shadyside when we were going to Pitt, and we brought the girls and their brother down several times for a sleep-over. We took them to the zoo, and to the top of the Cathedral of Learning to look out over the city. Neither of us had a car, so we went everywhere on the city bus, which turned out to be the most memorable experience for them.

During this conversation it occured to me that it is not enough to simply share experiences with your family...an important bonding occurs in the years that follow as you recount what you have done together, over and over again, adding to the family oral history. Children (and adults) love to hear stories that feature them as main characters, and they will soon begin retelling these tales if you give them the chance. Who cares if the stories change a little over time? (For instance, Kelly remembers nearly being hit by a bus, which I'm sure my sister and I would NEVER let happen.)

Now back to the puzzle....

Puzzles are certainly not a tradition in my family. My dad pulled it out of the attic with the other Christmas decorations, and no one is sure where it came from. It was a very complicated drawing of a Christmas tree, with lots of pictures and color schemes repeated, and there were no straight edges. Instead the puzzle followed the contour of the tree. And don't even get me started on the glitter.

When M and I returned to the house on Christmas Eve, my sister and father were still working on the puzzle. Much progress had been made, but it was nowhere near finished. Somehow, they had managed to bake several dozen cookies, but dinner was not ready. About 20 minutes before the rest of the extended family was supposed to show up, we realized how little had been done and we sprung into action. Miraculously (and also in large part because my uncle works at an Italian restaurant and had brought the non-vegan entrees) dinner was ready on time.

After eating, we began the tradition of the poppers. This is a tradition started by my Aunt Denise. I do not know where she gets these things, but they are sort of like those little firecrackers that you throw on the ground to pop instead of lighting them. But instead of throwing the poppers, DC graps one side and one of us grabs the other and we pull. It pops, everybody cheers and a prize falls to the ground. Usually the prize is some cheap little trinket like a mini flashlight or a magnifying glass, but this year a large pair of toenail clippers came flying out of Kelly's popper! The other things that fall out include a paper crown and a paper with some really bad jokes and/or fortunes on it. I am hoping that someone in my family will email me a picture of us with our crowns on, since I neglected to take one with my camara.

So Christmas has come and gone, once again. This is the 12th...yes 12th...Christmas for M & K.