Day 24, Letter X
#atozchallenge
[Monday April 28th 2014]
Xmas memories. Nostalgia is powerful, when I am feeling down I reminiscence about happy times in my past to raise my spirits.
Nostalgia allows people to use experiences from the past to help cope with challenges in the present.” ~Dr. Clay Routledge
Simply mentioning the names of my favorite childhood toys, old TV shows, favorite childhood melodies, classic video games, and the family traditions that we had growing up instigates an emotional response within me. I am comforted and often I find closure in reminiscing, especially if the nostalgic memory includes loved ones that are no longer here. Christmas time holds some of my most reminiscent childhood memories, so I decided to dedicate this blog to that.
Childhood Christmas Traditions:
(My Father’s Side)
We would eat a special dinner on Christmas Eve, many relatives would visit my grandparents house for Christmas Eve Dinner. My Grandmother always read a Christmas story from the Bible about the birth of Jesus. She knew the whole story by heart, in more than one language. All of us Grandchildren/Great Grandchildren could perform a talent for the family. Playing an instrument, singing or doing a little skit. I remember my cousin and I playing a flute duet. We all would sing Christmas Carols ending with lighting a candle and singing ‘Silent Night’. We attended the Christmas Eve “Midnight Mass” Service at Calvary. The congregation would light a candle and sing ‘Silent Night’ prior to leaving church. We would go back to Grandma and Grandpas to have Grandpas homemade vanilla ice cream. Our family and sometimes my cousins would sleep at the C’Mon Inn. On Christmas Day we would awake and look in our stockings while we ate the Hotel Breakfast. Then maybe swim or go in the jacuzzi for a bit. It was a great time to be a kid!
(My Mother’s Side)
I remember Grandma making Christmas dinner and gathering with the family at her place.
Grandma Helens as a Baby
After Christmas dinner at grandmas we would go to Aunt Joyce/Uncle Wills house. We would spend the night over at their place and back to the twin cities in the morning. Joyce’s famous Pikins hold a special place in my memory bank even though today I would only eat them very sparingly. I learned one of my favorite childhood games there called the ‘dirty dice’ game. I couldn’t forget winning useful, unique and sometimes absurd prizes.
We typically celebrated Christmas at home after we went up north. Jason was always with us when we celebrated Christmas with our immediate family.
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Subtract Sundays from April, you then have 26 days–one day for each letter of the alphabet. Start beginning Tuesday April First 2014 with a topic themed on something with the letter A, then on April second another topic with the letter B as the theme, and so on until you finish on April thirtieth with the theme based on the letter Z. The theme of the day is the letter scheduled for that day on http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com