Christmas Traditions

 

From Melanie Hinds:

Growing up in Chicago we always had artificial Christmas trees, and my mom seemed to appreciate trees that were made of any material and any color other than a traditional green evergreen tree. One year we had a white flocked tree with turquoise garland and ornaments. (I thought it was so cool!) 

This is a picture of a Christmas tree we had in the late 1960’s: silver aluminum with purple glass ornaments. What you can’t see behind all these presents is the color wheel that we always used to illuminate our Christmas trees. Many of you might remember the color wheel: it was an electric wheel contraption that was divided into 4 quarters, each quarter a different color (usually red, blue, yellow and green) that could reach temperatures of about 4000 degrees hot and cause 3rd degree burns if you were silly enough to touch it! (Don’t ask me how I know about that.) 

And our color wheel squeaked as it made each revolution. I always wondered why my dad never oiled it but maybe because it only came out once a year perhaps my parents thought the squeak would eventually work its way out and that the next year it would turn soundlessly. Or maybe they forgot it had a squeak until it was hauled back out the succeeding year. Spolier: It NEVER did lose that squeak!

Our family’s Christmas tradition was that my brother and I could stay up until midnight on Christmas Eve, and could each open one, and only one present. So of course, we would always choose the largest box that was under the tree hoping that it was a really cool (and expensive) gift. The only caveat was that right after opening the present we had to go to bed. So imagine how excited I was when one Christmas Eve I opened the largest box under the tree for me and found an Easy-Bake Oven. I was so excited thinking about all the cakes I could make. Of course, that was before I realized that it was a 30-watt light bulb that was the heating element for the oven which meant cooking time would not be as swift as the TV commercials made it appear. But imagine my disappointment as a few minutes after opening this awesomely cool gift my mom loudly announced that it was bedtime! It was almost too cruel, to make me wait until morning to be able to use this toy. I’m not sure what happened to it but while it was mine I know I had a ton of fun baking up a storm with my Easy Bake Oven!

From Barbara Mattoon:

This tiny harmonica has hung on my family's Christmas trees for over 100 years. It was on my mother's tree when she was a child, and it has been on my tree every year of my life. It works, although its range is limited.

From Cheri Sayer:

We had a few special traditions around Christmas in the Naylor household during the 50's and into the 60's.  On Christmas Eve we would sing carols in the living room.  Mind you, we were not good singers, but we did love those carols.  And on the night before Christmas Eve, the Christmas Fairy would come to leave each of the 4 children (Cheri, LeeAnn, Tom, and Pete), a wrapped gift, but not under the Christmas tree. In the morning, we would discover our gifts somewhere in our bedrooms and eagerly open them. What I remember is pajamas, and my sister remembers books.  Just one simple thing, but it seemed very special to us. My sister says her friends were mystified when she told them about this Christmas Fairy, as it didn't seem to visit their house. We learned over time the gifts came from our maternal grandparents, who lived about 200 miles away.  So maybe it was a Christmas Fairy that delivered those gifts :)

From Valorie Zimmerman:

Most of my memories of Christmas traditions came from my Swedish grandmother. Smorgasbord! Or as the Swedish would say it, smörgåsbord. According to Wikipedia, it is "a type of Scandinavian meal, originating in Sweden, served buffet-style with multiple hot and cold dishes of various foods on a table."https://en.wikipedia.rg/wiki/Sm%C3%B6rg%C3%A5sbord. That meal was usually the only time pickled herring was served, and I loved it! My grandmother Else Schell Cowan pickled and canned it herself. We were not served, and did not eat lutefisk, which sounds dreadful. I think my grandma disliked it, so I've actually never tasted it, and am not unhappy about that. I wish I had her pickled herring recipe though, although one can buy it nowadays. 

Although I never attended the midnight Lutheran services, my father remembered being sent to bed early so he could get up for church at midnight, and then finally see Grandma and Grandpa's Christmas tree, with real candles burning. My grandmother had a short string of electric candles she used on her own tree for many years. They had fluid in them and would bubble as they warmed. Just thinking of those lights on the tree makes me feel young again. 

Christmas Eve was the holiday for me. That's when gifts were exchanged and opened. Christmas morning was fun, because of the stockings by the fireplace, but most of it was fruit (such as the amazing Christmas oranges from Japan; nothing like them!), nuts in the shell, and a bit of candy. Later in the day we would often gather with my Grandpa's side of the family for Christmas dinner, when I was a bit older. But it was those Swedish smörgåsbords with my grandmother's brothers and sisters on Christmas Eve that hold a special place in my heart.

From MaryLynn Strickland:

We had several holiday foods every year--cranberry bread, fruitcake, cookies--but one meal in particular stands out. On Christmas Eve we had oyster stew for supper. I was thinking about this recently, especially the fact that we were living in landlocked Montana and Wyoming. How did oysters become a tradition? Of course in mid 20th century canned oysters were readily available but how did it become tradition before canning processes were common place?

Google to the rescue--according to an article published on Forbes.com, December 23, 2018, English settlers along the East coast started the tradition of eating oysters on Christmas Eve.

However, transporting oysters inland and to Southern states was challenging because seafood could not be easily refrigerated in the 1800s. Thus, oysters were most widely available in winter months (starting in December), when the weather was cool enough to prevent seafood from spoiling while traveling. Enveloped in seaweed and wet straw, oysters could be transported for up to two weeks without decaying. This seasonal window meant that oysters gradually became associated with Christmas.

Irish immigrants also helped continue the oyster stew tradition, especially those Roman Catholics who abstained from eating meat on Christmas Eve. 

Last year when I decided to make some oyster stew, I couldn't find canned oysters and didn't want to buy fresh ones.  Then I remembered I had a tin of smoked oysters; they should work, just adjust the seasoning.  Delicious and now I have a new wrinkle on my traditional Christmas Eve supper.