Christmas! Christmas!

The holidays are upon us and visions of sugarplums are not dancing through my head.  I think Scrooge lives at my house and our names are synonymous.  Frankly, by the time Christmas rolls around I am kind of tired of it.  It’s hard to focus on the reason for the season when the retail establishment starts decorating the stores and pushing the advertisements as soon as the “back to school specials” are cleared off the shelves.

Every year I tell myself I am not going to get sucked into the commercialism and I am going to keep things simple.  I do a pretty good job of not buying presents; years ago we decided to cut back on gift giving and take turns choosing a charity to contribute to as a family.  None of us needs to be giving/receiving another sweater, and hopefully our Christmas money supports a worthwhile cause.  However, Shane sometimes tries to suggest a more self-serving charity, and he and Alex definitely win the prizes for awful Christmas sweaters.

I don't have any words . . .

Of course the holidays bring back memories of childhood Christmases.  There was always a lot of anticipation in my home; my Mom put out gifts without name tags . . . she used a distinct gift wrap for each of us so only she knew which gift was for whom.  We were always trying to guess which gift was ours.  One of my favorite childhood memories is Dad taking us into the mountains to cut a tree; it was a lot of fun and remembering those times makes me miss my Dad.  I don’t actually have many of my childhood photos but found this one of my first Christmas.

I don't look too happy!

Bob shares a story about the Christmas his parents put the kids to bed and went to the neighbors for a Christmas Eve cocktail party.  Their parents came home and found the boys riding their new bicycles throughout the house; so much for a Christmas morning surprise!  One of his favorite memories is of visiting Santa in a Richmond, VA department store.  This Santa actually did have the real hair and beautiful beard, and it’s a classic Christmas photo that graces our home every year.

Rob, about age 4

I don’t think I really began to experience the joy of Christmas until I became a mother and could see it through my children’s eyes.  They were full of hope and wonder and curiosity.  It was always a lot of fun, even the year the tree fell over!  I don’t know what their favorite Christmas memories are but I know that the one piece of decorating I continue to do is put out childhood photos of Amy and Shane at Christmas time.  Truly, it warms my heart. 

Amy & Santa, 1971

Shane, 1973

Shane, Santa, & Amy, 1975

Amy & Shane, 1980

Bob and I were married in 1981 and the “kids” and I moved out to his house, which allowed us to decorate in a bigger way.  We had a fireplace for hanging stockings; a high ceiling for a tall tree; and the family favorite was to decorate the side of the house with a simple tree shaped lighting.  Amy and Shane always cooked Christmas breakfast, a German apple puff pancake.  Yummy!

1981

Our house "tree" 1983

1984

 At Christmas 1985 we moved from CO to WA.  It was one of the coldest and snowiest late Decembers on record and we let barely sixteen-year old Amy drive a vehicle (in caravan) from CO to WA.  She had gotten her driver’s license only three weeks earlier!  I don’t know what we were thinking but she did a great job and probably learned a lot about winter driving from that experience.  That Christmas we stayed in a motel with our two cats (boarded the dog) and we tried to enjoy the holiday in our new surroundings.  It was challenging and yet I think it reminded all of us that the reason for the season has nothing to do with the decorations, gifts, and festivities.  We made up for Christmas day by celebrating New Year’s Eve in our new home and a nice traditional holiday dinner. 

1986

In 1988, Bob took a job in Zambia, Africa and our lives changed forever.  Christmas took on an entirely new celebration.  The Zambians wished us “Christmas! Christmas!” and Bob and I continue to refer to the holiday in that manner.  It was strange to be in the Southern Hemisphere and have warm weather at Christmas.  The Zambian mining company provided us with a tree that was probably 20’ tall; we cut the top off for our tree and our houseboy (Valentine) and gardener (Jotam) hauled off the rest of the tree to share in their homes.  We didn’t have lights or decorations so for the first time in years we made paper chains and popcorn garlands.  We hosted a Christmas tea for Valentine, his wife, and their five little boys and also for Jotam and his younger brother, Nojus.  They were ecstatic when we gave everyone a pair of shoes (I’d bought them while home in the US) and food boxes of sugar, tea, biscuits, a chicken and fried caterpillars.  Yes, caterpillars and there is a much longer story there.  That Christmas changed Christmas forever; I think I truly experienced that joy is in the giving more than receiving.

Zambian Christmas tree, 1989

 Between 1990 and 1997, our family was busy spreading its wings and Bob and I decided to take a back seat when it came to the holidays.  We tried to celebrate Thanksgiving more and leave Christmas for the kids to celebrate in their own homes and in their own way.  Sometimes we celebrated by what we called “whacky tacky” Christmas where we exchanged gag gifts at another time of year.  We did come together in 1993 for a family holiday celebration and the entertainment was Shane’s miniature dachshund, Gucci.  She provided joy to all of us for over sixteen years, and she endured her Christmas sweaters or hats with little complaint.

Vail, 1990

Gucci, 1993

 As mentioned earlier, our exposure to the holidays in other countries started from our living in Zambia.  It peaked our interest, and we were fortunate to enjoy Christmas in a few other nations 1997-2007.  We loved living in Calgary, Alberta Canada; the entire country looks like a winter wonderland. 
 

Banff Hot Springs Hotel, 1997

 One year we visited Guadalajara and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico over Christmas.  It was very interesting, and sincerely devout in the religious experience and celebration.

Guadalajara 2000

San Miguel de Allende 2000

   







We moved to the Lake District of England in 2005 and our holidays were spent in England and Scotland.  It was nice to be exposed to the British traditions of mince pies (gesture of hospitality) and plum pudding deserts, holiday crackers (party favors) and greeting one another with “Happy Christmas.” 

Carlisle Christmas Parade 2005

Cockermouth 2005

Edinburgh 2005

St. Andrews 2005

York Minster

While living in England, some of my friends and I traveled to the Cologne Germany Christmas Market.  Europe is known for its Christmas Markets, and Germany is particularly known for their nutcrackers and Christmas pyramid carousels.  My carousel has become my favorite decoration and along with Christmas pictures of my children it is the one decoration I always put out. I love that carousel nativity scene, and the trip to Cologne was wonderful.  

Christmas Market Pyramids

My Nativity Carousel

Good friends visit Cologne Germany

Bob and I also spent a Christmas on the southern Algarve coastline of Portugal. We traveled to several small towns and also to Seville, Spain.   I remember lots of nativity scenes and the beautiful Christmas linens; one decorates my kitchen table every year.

Estoi Portugal

Christmas Linen

In late 2007 we moved from the fells of Cumbria, England to the hills of Greenville, SC.  It was a difficult move; we didn’t want to leave England and Bob had to face a cancer diagnosis.  Good friends came out to visit before the holidays and my brother and sister-in-law came for New Year’s.  Both sets of company bolstered our spirits, and of course we were reminded of the true meaning of Christmas.  We visited the beautiful Biltmore mansion in Asheville, NC, which is decked out to the nines at Christmas; it is a “must-see” for any visitors to the region. 

Biltmore Mansion, Asheville NC

Charleston SC

Also, we made a trip down to beautiful Charleston, SC; especially lovely at the holidays.  Christmas week 2010, before moving from SC back to WA, we made one last road trip through parts of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida.  At a friend’s suggestion, we stopped at beautiful Bellingrath Gardens outside Mobile, AL.  Christmas Eve we celebrated in a hotel restaurant with many people of other faiths who were enjoying a quiet weekend.  The view was beautiful and the camaraderie enjoyable.

Bellingrath Gardens, Mobile AL 2010

Pensacola FL 2010

Returning to the Pacific NW was an opportunity to enjoy our family again. Last year we were blessed to have my Mom with us for Christmas.  I opened this blog post by admitting I have a bit of a “bah humbug” attitude about the holidays.  My frustration is with the commercialism of a spiritual holiday.  I’m not a big decorator but I do enjoy baking my two mothers-in-law (yes, I had two of the best!) favorite sugar cookie recipes and I’ve gotten pretty good at making my Grandmother’s fudge.  Bob makes his Mother’s garlic cereal and we enjoy sharing the goodies with family, friends, and neighbors. 

Three Generations, 2014

We enjoy making a browsing trip through our local nursery which always has beautifully decorated trees, lovely nativity scenes, and resident reindeer.

Red Tree

Gold Tree

 

Beautiful Nativity

Santa's reindeer in Richland?

I look forward to spending Christmas Eve with Amy and Mike where we will enjoy a simple enchilada dinner before attending services at their church.  Christmas afternoon we will go to Port Townsend and enjoy a week of natural beauty and tranquility. 
 

Port Townsend "reindeer"

 Shane and Alex will be relaxing in Mexico.  I may not go “all out” for the holidays but I’m fairly certain my family has good memories of Christmas.

Welcome to our home!

Obviously, we celebrate Christmas.  But having lived in foreign countries, I am aware that not everyone celebrates it like we do.  I’m also aware that other faiths also have religious holidays in December and they celebrate in their own respectful and traditional manners.  To offer a bit of personal insight, I think Starbucks got it right this year with their “controversial” holiday cup; a simple red cup honoring the holiday season throughout the world.  So on that note, Bob and I want to wish all of you “Happy Holidays”  and hope each of you is blessed with good health, happiness, prosperity, and peace in the coming New Year. 

Happy Holidays!