Ep. 112 – Our Christmas Memories and Traditions

Our memories are at times bittersweet

Homestead Padre and Grant Payne join me and we share our Christmas memories and traditions.

Christmas is a wonderful time of the year. For Homestead Padre and his family, their holiday season starts when eggnog becomes available in the store. They put their tree up in October. They also celebrate Hannukah.

In Lawrence in NE Kansas, they light the Christmas lights on the evening of Black Friday. The fire department mock rescues Santa from the roof of the department store on Mass Street. (there is so much hidden meaning in that, but that is for another time).

The Christmas lights are one of my favorite traditions. But they leave them up until Valentine’s Day.

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A Foxfire Christmas – Tradition

We talk about the Foxfire Christmas book. The Foxfire books are a series of books that capture the oral history of the Appalachian folks during the Depression. “A Foxfire Christmas: Appalachian Memories and Traditions” is the book dedicated to Christmas memories and traditions.

I have been reading this book aloud to my wife in the evenings this week. This book was so humbling. The families in the book were beyond poor. Many of the kids got only a stocking full of apples, one orange, a Brazil nut in the toe of the sock, and some candy. A home knitted pair of wool socks. Maybe one small toy, a comb, or a mirror. That was it. Yet they celebrated family. They seemed more solid and more happy than many of us today.

They had gifts that they appreciated. (Whereas my daughter gives some of her kids’ toys away to Goodwill so that they have room for the inevitable new presents).

Bittersweet Christmas Memories

Christmas also can be bittersweet. You remember loved ones who have passed, and that loss is especially felt at Christmas. Grant’s loss of his Nana is especially felt this time of year.

Homestead Padre and I also did not have very happy childhoods.

Think about your favorite Christmas memories. While I remember a couple of nice presents, my most cherished memories were of sledding, drinking hot chocolate. And singing Christmas carols as a family. As a young adult, I was given a book of carols and I played guitar and we sang them as a family. Now the kids have their own families. Lately, my wife has been playing Christmas carols on the living room piano with the lights dimmed and only the Christmas tree to light the room.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Thriving New Year!

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