Taking Down the Tree

 This past weekend my grandson and I worked to take down my Christmas tree.  We had decorated it together. It had mostly soft cloth ornaments.  They were not the ornaments I normally use.  I have kept them around with the purpose of decorating the tree with little children around. I put many less ornaments on the tree this year. I debated getting some more out, but I decided against it.  Taking down the tree, I was quite happy not to hunt for tiny wooden ornaments and little angels.

My grandson also wanted to help take down the garland.  He was very efficient with that task.  I waited to do the lights on my own.  The lights didn't lend themselves to his fast method of ornament removal. I jampacked the mantel with angels, snowmen and Santas. I am packing these away together because I think I will do the same thing next year.  I love it when a plan comes together.

My grandson is a big Christmas fan.  He loves the music.  He loves the decorations.  He loves the cookies. He loved counting down to Christmas with stickers.  He loved it so much he now has a calendar to count the days of the year. I look forward to looking forward to Christmas with him next year.

The tree is down in the basement now. It resides under my stairs for most of the year. I think I learned something about myself and about decorating for Christmas.  Less is better.  A simple plan is more relaxing. And relaxing is better.  More time to play with my grandchildren.

Epiphany

 An unexpected surprise, a find, a gift is an epiphany.  When a person says they figured something out they might say that they had an epiphany. But, of course, the original epiphany was the visit to the baby Jesus by the Wise Men. They made a discovery.

Today is the traditional Epiphany.  It is time to put away the manger scene and perhaps the Christmas tree.  Jesus came for all of us, Jews and Gentiles.  Jesus came for the whole world.  He came for you.  He came for me.

Today, this day to end the Christmas season, I hope to have my epiphany.  How will I discover Jesus and bring him to all the world?

Here Comes the Sun!

 The days are getting longer again!  Who cares if the cold weather is still in front of us?  The days are getting longer!  I need the sunlight.  If I could I would hibernate in the dark winter days.  But, the sun is coming back!

Wasn't the church genius to set Christmas, the coming of the Son to coincide with the lengthening days?

Sunlight, Son light. Genius

It's Christmas!

 I remember being very young and anticipating Christmas for the presents I would get to open. Imagining the wonderful surprises that waited for me under the tree was the main part of Christmas for me when I was very young.

When I was a bit older and able to give presents, imagining the joy I would bring from my carefully selected gifts was the main part of Christmas. Christmas shopping was a big thing, the main part of Christmas.

The celebration in church, the spiritual meaning of Christmas was always there in the background.  I belonged to a family that believed. I belonged to a Christian family.  We always had a manger scene and went to church. But, when I was young, the church part wasn't the joy.

But gradually, slowly, creeping into my soul, the meaning of the coming of the Savior at Christmas became the main thing.  I understood that the rest of the things were trappings.  Christmas became a spiritual journey for me.

Some years, I must confess the journey is more profound and some years I scurry around and wish I had more time to consider the spiritual meaning of the season.  I am forgiving myself for my spiritual thin ice and gulping in with joy the times I can touch the sacredness.

This year I did Advent with greater intention.  I found meaning and joy in the waiting.  I think that helped me to have a better attitude and a better Christmas this year. 

Rejoice, rejoice! It is Christmas!

The Eve

 This year I was ready for Christmas in terms of shopping and such by the weekend before Christmas.  No Christmas Eve shopping for me this year!  Busy, busy for all those scurrying to finish. Celebrations galore for many people.

I am quiet this year, enjoying the season.  I am looking forward to church.  I am learning to enjoy the quiet and the slow down.  And while I do like to watch the snow coming down, I am glad it isn't happening this year at Christmas!

Boring Post for Saturday--Christmas

 My grandson at three and a half years old has a favorite holiday.  He hasn't had a lot of years' experience.  But, he definitely has a favorite.  He loves Christmas.  He looks forward to Christmas.  I would say that he keeps Christmas in heart all year long.  

My grandson's favorite song is "Rudolph the Redd Nosed Reindeer."  He asked me to play it on the ride home from playing at my house.  Then the CD goes on to play other Christmas songs both sacred and secular.  But, Rudolph is his favorite.

The tree went up at his house for Advent.  He loved decorating the tree.  His only complaint was that there were not enough ornaments.  (There were, he just didn't want to be finished.) I have a plan to decorate my tree with him on his next play date.  He will think I have plenty of decorations.

I look forward to doing lots of Christmas things with him this year.  No doubt we will sing some Rudolph.

Quick Takes

 As the Christmas season draws to a close, I thought it would be good to sum up Advent and Christmas this year, just for the memories.  

Early in Advent my woman's group had a Zoom Christmas party.  We had a former member who moved to Washington state join us which was fun. It will be more fun next year when we can all get together.

The Advent by Candlelight that I usually go to was offered as a socially distanced in church event or by Zoom and I Zoomed.  The music was beautiful.  The talk was good.  I missed seeing the faces of my friends.  I missed being there.

I went to a potluck by Zoom and another Christmas party by Zoom and in some ways they were fun events. In other ways I am Zoomed out.

I baked raw apple fruit cake from my dad's recipe that my mom always made at Christmas and sent some to her.  At 99, Mom isn't baking much these days.  She is happily living with my sister and brother in law. I am glad they were able to take her from the assisted living where she would have been isolated and might have gotten sick or died.

On Christmas Day I had my son and his family over.  We are all part of the same bubble since I watch the kids weekdays and they work from home.  Because it was so uncommon, I have to mention that I had all the food cooked and staying warm in the oven before they came over.  I never had such an easy feast.

I had the week off between Christmas and New Years.  I only took my grandson twice.  I was a little lonely at times, but I did get a few things done.

And this week it is back to work full time.  Today I am exhausted.  The grandchildren are a handful.

White Christmas

 I watched the movie White Christmas on Christmas Eve.  I was working on things for the dinner the next day and White Christmas is a movie I have seen so many times I practically know it by heart.  We watched it nearly every Christmas Eve of my childhood.  At least that is the way I remember it.  In the days before VCRs or DVDs or Netflix, you watched what was on when it was on.

I considered it more this year.  I have a sentimental attachment to the movie.  My dad always liked Bing Crosby. There is nothing inappropriate for young people in the movie even though it is really about the adult topics of falling in love and getting married.  There are a lot of dance numbers.  

As a Christmas movie I have to say that White Christmas has nothing to recommend it.  The only connection it might possibly have to Christmas is to do something nice for someone.  There is no reason for the season or prayer or church.  There is no reference at all to anything related to spiritual or uplifting ideas.  The characters lie to and deceive each other. They casually plan lifetime commitments to each other.  And they do a lot of dancing and singing.

That critique said, I still like White Christmas.  I like the dancing, the singing and the thin transparent plot. It is a nice movie to play while I am wrapping presents or cooking.  It is fun. I will probably put it on Christmas Eve next year.

Rejoice, Rejoice

 In this year of pandemic and quiet and small celebrations, when things aren't ideal, it is good to remember that when Christ came it wasn't ideal.  He was born in a stable and laid in a manger.  This wasn't the way babies were received even back in those days.  This was not the way Mary and Joseph would have planned to have a baby.

The political leaders in those days were not, it would seem very good or nice people.  The Romans were brutal occupiers of Israel.  The Jewish leaders who collaborated with the Romans were not good people.  The religious leaders, for the most part don't sound like particularly good people.  What I am trying to say is that times were tough. Things were not easy or prosperous or just. Jesus came anyway.  

So, it is in a small way for all of us this year.  Our celebrations are called on to be small.  Unlike the holy family who were forced to travel, we all are being told to stay home. Isolated, lonely, sad might describe this year for some of us. But, Jesus is still coming, still came. 

Somewhere in my heart I will find a way to celebrate without all of the trappings.  I won't even go to church this year for Christmas.  I will attend online. But, finding Christ isn't about the celebrations.  It is about accepting the love and forgiveness that I am offered.

I will rejoice. Rejoice! Rejoice! 

Merry, blessed Christmas!

The Eve

I wasn't in The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve. I went to the Holy Land in January the year I was able to go there.  But, it was still the Christmas season when I was there.  There was a decorated tree up in the courtyard. Our group went first to the shepherd's cave and celebrated Mass that morning we went to Bethlehem. It felt a little like Christmas morning. It felt like something I had never experienced.

After the shepherd's cave, we went to the Church of the Nativity.  When we got there, there was a procession going on in the grotto, the stable, and we had to wait on the steps.  I was so blessed because I was one of the first in the group and I saw the procession.  I can't even describe it. Incense and prayerful and waiting my turn to see the spot where Christ was born.

There is a star on the floor on the spot where they say Jesus was born.  I was able to touch the star. Then quickly over to the manger.  Someone asked whether this was really the spot.  I know in my heart that it doesn't matter.  My heart was burning within me. Where didn't matter so much as the fact, Jesus was born. Visiting Bethlehem made it more real to me, the most real.

Tonight, Christmas Eve I will rejoice.  This is a moment to remember that in an instant, history changed, the world changed for the better.  It has never been the same.  He came to save me.  He can to save us.

The Ides of December

 I will always be thankful to Julius Caesar (or perhaps William Shakespeare) that I know that ides is the 15th. The middle of December, such a cold dark time. It is time to get cracking on Christmas cards. I used to send out tons of cards. It was quite an operation to get them going. But these days I only send a few. 

There are friends I only hear from in December and that is when they hear from me.  Many of the relatives are on Facebook and some of them also receive cards.  But, these days I have to say that I am intentional about my Christmas cards.  I send only to people who I really love and care about.  People I would like to spend time with. People I hope to see in the future.

I can get sad in the winter with all the dark and expectations of joy.  Some memories are not laced with joy.  But, I do love to get cards and see the people I have missed.  This year more than ever before it is a check in.  How are you doing in the pandemic?

I am thankful for the tradition of Christmas cards.  I am thankful that I can reach out to people I once spent time with and see what has happened in their lives. It is the Ides of December. Time to get to work on those cards.

Raw Apple Fruit Cake

 I am one of the very few who enjoy fruit cake at Christmas. I suppose this love came to me by way of my father.  Dad liked food and except for hot dogs, I can't think of anything that he didn't like to eat. He didn't cook much though, like most men of his generation. I never saw him bake anything.  Mom was the baker and the cook. Mom made a raw apple fruit cake at Christmas.

I remember once asking about the raw apple fruit cake origins.  The recipe was scribbled on a piece torn from lined notebook paper.  It was sketchy, not very detailed.  The story as I recall is that my dad and his best friend Elmo cooked up this recipe one Christmas back the in the 1930s or 40s. Mom inherited making it after she married Dad in 1948.

At 99 my mom is not the most reliable in asking for recipes or stories.  She makes up what she can't remember.  She is remarkable for her age, but there is no way I could get this recipe explained by her. I looked it up online and it appears that apple fruit cakes are English.  Dad spent WWII in England so his making this recipe makes sense.

This year I decided to make the raw apple fruit cake and send some to my mom.  It was my first attempt and I already have some ideas for changes in the next batch.  I will include here the basic recipe and my interpretations.  I baked it and it turned out beautifully, so I can vouch for it.

Raw Apple Fruit Cake

3 cups peeled chopped apples (it was about 5 or 6 apples altogether)

1 cup raisins (I might do half light, half dark raisins next time)

1 cup chopped dates

1 cup chopped nut meats (I used black walnuts, because that is what I had, but regular walnuts might be better, or pecans.  I would not use peanuts)

2 Tablespoons butter

3 eggs

1 teaspoon cinnamon (I think next time I will add another spice like some nutmeg as well.  The recipe doesn't call for vanilla, but I added some anyway.)

(I added a half teaspoon of salt which was not in the recipe.  I think it needs salt and next time I will add 1 teaspoon salt)

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

6 Tablespoons boiling water

There were very few directions for this recipe.  One of the only things written is--Add baking soda to boiling water. I can see no sense in this, so I added the boiling water to the dried fruit. I concluded that the recipe needs the water, but it is as if yeast were confused with baking soda.)

My Directions

1.) Cream butter, sugar, eggs.

2.) Stir in flour, spices, salt and baking soda

3.) Add the boiling water to the raisins and dates. Soak for a short time. Mix all the fruit into the flour mixture.

4.) Put in a circular pan with a hole in the center, like a bundt pan or angel food cake pan or I had a spring form pan that my mother used. I put some fruit cake cherries on top before I baked it. I might change how I added those next time.

5.) Preheat oven to 300 to 325 degrees. Bake at this temperature until the cake rises. That is what the recipe says. I baked it 30 minutes at that temperature.  Then turn the oven down to 250 degrees and continue baking for a hour and a half.

6.) It is better aged at least a few days.  Cover with wax paper according to the original recipe.

I would definitely add the salt.  I may try playing around with it by adding more butter and a little less sugar. I am considering which spices might improve the flavor. But, there you have it, fruit cake for Christmas.  I am thankful to have Mom's old recipes and to have something that was handed down from my dad who passed away in 1982 to share this Christmas.

Blow Ye Winds Softly, Blow

 I am still walking my imaginary dog around the neighborhood.  I seem to meet and talk to people more.  I know Tammy and Margaret and the man who walks the beagle.  The decorations on houses have changed from orange pumpkins and leaves to Christmas.  There is lots of red and green.  There are a lot of themes of cold or characters doing something in red or green costumes.  There are snowmen.

But, I have to admit, the most noticeable aspect of the decorations in my neighborhood is the gentle whoosh of air blowing through pumps that keep all of those inflated figures going. For me it has become the sound of Christmas in my neighborhood. If I were a musician I would write a Christmas song using the air pump sound as an accompaniment.

Then there are the deflated Santas and snowmen when the pumps aren't turned on or don't work correctly. It is sad when the wind inside is not inflating the poor things.  They look like poor limp rags on lawns. All the lights and decorations in my neighborhood are a gift.  I appreciate the effort and expense that goes into that sort of public display. But, blow winds, blow and keep Snoopy and snowmen looking sharp.  Make that snowglobe thing sparkle and stand proudly on the lawn.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

 I am digging out my Christmas CDs.  I have already put up my Christmas tree.  I think that I am largely finished shopping for the holiday.  I have plans for my small holiday gathering.  I am looking forward to Christmas this year.

For much of my life I was personally a role model for the Advent Police.  I tried to delay the tree and the decorations as long as possible.  I would say that I tried to emphasize the waiting and preparing part, but I have to admit there used to be a lot of shopping.  I tried for the weeks before Christmas to emphasize the Advent, not the Christmas season.  But, it was hard to do.  

One of the worst parts of that way of celebrating is that on December 25 most of the rest of the world is tired of "Christmas".  The music goes away, the decorations come down, the holiday parties are New Years, not Christmas. My church stays decorated until well into January, but for most of the people I meet, the Christmas season is long gone.

So, there was always a compromise in my celebrations.  I went to Christmas parties before Christmas.  I did not put up the tree on December 24th.  I didn't usually leave things up until late January.  And by things, I mean the tree and the wreaths and the other holiday decorations. I participated in non-Advent season activities, but I grumbled.

On that year, a few years ago when I took off for Oklahoma for Christmas to escape a crazy situation, I listened to Christmas CDs before Christmas.  They provided me with familiarity and comfort in a strange and sometimes scary situation. Driving through rural countryside can be beautiful and restful, but there aren't a lot of radio stations and those Christmas CDs got played over and over. They are songs you can sing along with.

I still try to keep Advent.  I think next year if things have returned to a semblance of normal, I will really appreciate things I am not doing this year.  Going out on a cold night to Mass for a Holy Day will be one of those things.  This year I will go online.  And I am thankful for the cheer and encouragement brought into my life by those Christmas CDs.

Over the River

 One of my favorite non-religious holiday songs is "Over the River and Through the Woods...." That song resonated with me as a child because we lived over a hundred miles from either of my grandmothers.  We usually visited for at least one of the holidays--Thanksgiving or Christmas.  To get there in the olden days of my childhood there were not interstates.  There were 2 lane highways and shortcuts on "hard roads" that went over rivers and through woods.

Since my mother was an elementary teacher and my dad liked to sing, we always sang that song as one of the selections as we sped along toward "grandma's house."  We didn't drive a horse.  Usually it was a Ford station wagon. The light and drifted snow in the song was not on order by my parents, but I remember being thrilled on the rare occasion that those words were realized.

Recently, I found a pattern for a pillow cover in a quilting magazine that quotes "over the river and through the woods." Generally I don't do sewing projects for holidays.  I am just not fast.  I am slow.  It took me decades to finish a lovely tree skirt from Creative Circle (remember them, I bet they aren't in business anymore).  But, this project is small.  I am working on it quickly.  I hope to have it done by the time Christmas comes.

The past two years I did family Christmas things on Christmas Eve and I ended up entirely alone on Christmas. I thought I would be okay with it, but I found it depressing.  This year I doubt very much that I will even go to church.  My prayer last year was that I wouldn't be alone at Christmas in 2020.  This year with the pandemic it seemed that alone might be the only choice.

But, recently my daughter in law offered to bring the family over on Christmas.  Or if I preferred, I could go there.  I am invited to their house for Thanksgiving.  We are in each other's bubble because I watch the grandchildren. I am the only one they feel safe with. I will have them come here.  It will be a reason to decorate.  And I hope to have some new pillow covers.