Honoring Tradition

I remember my childhood Christmases in Three Lakes, when those two weeks off school were jam-packed with snowsuits, sledding, nighttime ice skating on the lake, and hours spent reading in front of the Yule log (actually comprised of the many logs Dad had chopped down in the summer to keep us toasty all day long on Christmas). There were also dozens of cookies to be made and eaten, pancakes and crisp bacon to be doused in syrup, and hot chocolate to be slurped (with marshmallows, of course). And every Christmas night we joined a host of friends, family and neighbors at Grandma and Grandpa Brainard’s house for dessert, eggnog and, for those able to handle it, some very strong glögg. 

These days, traditions are shimmied into the small space between other responsibilities, like work and school. I think that makes them more important than ever. Traditions ground us in the past and help us slow down and exist in the present. (PRESENT, not presents. Sheesh.) I’ve been chatting with someone who is having her first holiday season with her new husband. She is Christian, he is Jewish. Not only are they trying to meld their respective family’s holiday traditions, but those traditions aren’t even close to matching. Not to mention that some of those traditions actually make the other person very uncomfortable. But they’re finding their way. It’s made me realize how traditions are worth having, cultivating and carrying on.

We don’t have the white fluffy stuff in San Francisco, so snowsuits, snowmen and sledding are out. But we’ve discovered something better than hot chocolate – mmm, the delightful, warming goodness of Bailey’s Irish Cream. And we may not have kids, but Santa still stuffs our stockings and the Yul Tomte makes his once-a-year trek from his home behind the refrigerator to bring us the books we need for reading in front of the fireplace, which is still a source of much enjoyment, even if the Yule log was purchased at the market across the street.

Here’s to your own holiday traditions! Enjoy them and be merry.