Inherited Traditions: Finding Our Way Through the Holidays
It’s been a tough year. So many things were out of our control. Often, the time was not our own.
We’ve had a lot on our plates with “unretiring” for the summer to get my wife Kate’s dad’s tool and die business back in shape, preparing his townhome for sale, putting the townhome on the market, and his transition going from assisted living to memory care…to hospice today. She’s the quarterback of her family so It’s. Been. A. Lot.
The season always finds me a bit melancholy but this year, it’s harder than most. We didn’t put up holiday decorations because we’ll be traveling. I didn’t play Christmas music on my piano or on Spotify. We did, however, watch at least one Hallmark Christmas movie.
After the election, I needed to keep my mind occupied so I bought an Epson FastFoto FF-680W photo scanner to organize and scan the two totes of pictures I’ve been hauling around for decades. It would serve three purposes: 1) I’d pare down to a bare minimum; 2) I’d have digital versions; and 3) I could share a link so distant family members can enjoy.
It’s been overwhelming sorting and organizing more than 60 years of photos. But, I can report the FastFoto lives up to its name…and is amazing. I’m about halfway through my project and hope to wrap it up early next year.
Last year I wrote about my favorite Christmas tradition—making custom holiday cards. Turns out, I inherited that tradition.
This is the card my parents sent out in 1956 when I was just over a year old. My mom and I had matching homemade sundresses with rows of rickrack along the bottom.
This Christmas we’ll be in North Dakota with our two-year-old granddaughter. We can’t wait to witness her joy of the season.
Sending you warm holiday greetings and wishes for a season filled with quiet moments of joy, the comfort of cherished traditions, and the kind of peace that settles in like fresh snow on a winter evening.
Whether you're celebrating surrounded by family or finding your own meaningful ways to mark these days, I hope you'll take a moment to wrap yourself in the simple magic that makes this time of year special.
Until next time,
Deb
Do you have any holiday card traditions? I’d love to hear about them in the comments.
Another great story! I loved seeing you in your Rick rack trimmed dress. Brings back memories for me too! Enjoy your time with family. Hope to get together in the new year!♥️🎄♥️🎄
The story didn't come through. Here it is.
Jews Celebrating Christmas
Jews have many traditions. But there is one that has remained unchanged over all the thousands of years we have been a people.
Jews celebrate Christmas with a blockbuster movie that opens that day, followed by Chinese food. It doesn't matter what the movie is. It's the exuberance of long lines and noisy enthusiastic celebrants. Ideally, the Chinese food is east coast with duck sauce and spare ribs. But, if necessary, we can compromise with Chinese food from outside the Metro area.
Jews don't have either Santa Claus or a Christmas tree, although when my children were small, we had what I renamed a Chanukah bush, mostly to salve my parent's concern that I was raising heathens. We are, however, required, at least when our children are small, to have eight presents, one for each night of Chanukah, which challenges even the best gift-givers among the tribe.
Jews can sleep late on Christmas morning because no one is coming down the chimney, and there are no presents to open—we already dispensed with that during Chanukah. Christmas required nothing but a mediocre movie and variable Chinese food, and I was always happy to oblige.
That was before Kwanza, a celebration of the heritage and values of Black Americans created in l966 when my daughters were six and eight. There was a time I only had to rename my tree a bush, buy eight cheap presents, and presto, I had covered the two main holidays. But now there was a third. Then I learned about Solstice. I wanted my children to be citizens of the world and have a working knowledge of all the religions. However, incorporating Solstice was complicated since I was unable to make the requisite bonfire for us to dance around in my third-floor apartment. Instead, I offered my children what I identified as special Solstice mulled cider with their Cheerios.
Then, I began our yearly conversation by inviting their thoughts on the seven principles of unity of Kwanza, the birth of baby Jesus, and the Hebrew's struggles against the Maccabees. This turned Christmas morning into a time when my restless, impatient daughters were required to sit through my teachings about the varied ways people created opportunities to bless, pray, honor, and receive presents.
At the completion of my religious/spiritual/educational/ culturally incorporative presentation, my two young daughters and I got up, went to the movies, ate Chinese food, and said Merry Christmas to everyone we saw. It was perfect.