Childhood Christmas Memories

I grew up in a household with two brothers and two sisters (one brother was a year older and the rest are all younger than I am). Christmas Eve for my father, was THE important time in our family. My father brought home the tree that day and decorated it while I painted Christmas scenes on the windows and mirrors. My mother baked all the Christmas Italian cookies (she started three weeks prior and had to hide them from my father and us children). When the house was completely decorated, my father would put out the Nativity scene leaving baby Jesus out until midnight. We would go to Midnight Mass (which actually started at 10:00 PM) to celebrate the true reason for the season. On our way home we would sing Christmas carols. After placing the baby Jesus in the manger, my father would then make his specialty Italian pastry for us known as zeppoli (an Italian donut) and we would get to open one gift each. Santa was not the center of Christmas in our home when I was growing up.

Christmas morning (we did very little sleeping that night) after opening the rest of the gifts, my mother would begin cooking the holiday meal, and my father would take all the children to visit friends and relatives in the area and bring or exchange gifts and goodies. By late afternoon our house was filled with relatives (never less than 25) and the big table in our finished basement and the table in the smaller room (set up for the younger members of all the families) were decorated with holly and food you would not believe. The rooms were separated only by an arch. We truly ate a seven course meal from soup to nuts. After dinner came the desserts and coffee, tea, etc. Then while the women in the family did the cleaning up my father and a few other relatives would bring out their musical instruments and we would all listen or sing-along.

To this day I enjoy Christmas Eve more. Remembering when each year at a different family member's home my mother, whatever brothers and sisters that come for the holidays, their families, my daughter, son-in-law, son, daughter-in-law, grandchildren and of course me, usually spent it together after mass or services, eating, singing, trading stories and news of the past year, and later in the evening, opening gifts. Today Christmas Eve is usually spent with many family members at my niece Christa's house. This year I will be having breakfast out with my sisters and nieces. After that I'll be preparing for Christmas as I am having 6 of my family and one other for Christmas day and I have a lot of preparing and food to cook for Christmas day as this will be the first time in years I will be doing the entertaining. But I will never forget my cherished memories of Christmas' past. 

May your Christmas and New Year Be Filled With Love ~ Peace ~ Joy & Happiness See you Next Year.