December 16

Christmas Eve in our family has always been a quiet wind down evening. The hustle-bustle of shopping was over, the presents wrapped and hidden, or distributed to those across town, in other cities and countries. The cookies, breads and pies were baked and waiting on the shelf for Christmas day dinner.
It was always a time for visitors to drop by, sharing from a communal pot of whatever was cooking- strictly self serve. Sometimes it was spaghetti, or enchiladas, or simply chili. It wasn’t fancy, just good food and wonderful fellowship.

Now that the boys are grown, married and starting families of their own, the shifting trends have changed our traditions and presented me with an opportunity to pass on customs, ideas and items the boys have experienced as children. They will either accept the transfer of old traditions, revitalize them with their own ideas, or discard them in favor of new concepts they will be creating, more suitable to their needs of the future.
The hand knitted Christmas stockings, labeled “MOM” and “DAD”, go to the family with the new baby (he gets a new one for his first Christmas). The newly wed couple will receive the other two stockings with the appropriate name change.

All of the Christmas ornaments I gave them and those they received as gifts from others have their names and the date given written on them. They were carefully preserved in separate boxes and given to them as part of their wedding gifts. I can only hope these memories and treasures will mean something to them; if not now, perhaps in the future.

Diane Bowers-Parr