Traditions

Tis the night before Christmas and all through my brain Christmas traditions are falling like rain.

How on earth did Hickory Farm's summer sausage become a part of our Christmas tradition? Seriously? By accident.

I don't remember the year or how old I was at the time. I'm not even sure if this happened Christmas day or Christmas eve. But it was one or the other. It was before I graduated high school. The holidays were here, but electricity wasn't. A big storm moved through taking the power with it. Our cookstove was electric. Our heat stove was propane. Mom made potato soup on top of the heating stove. For the meat portion of our "holiday" meal we used a gift package of Hickory Farms meats and cheeses.

And a tradition was born. Not so much in the home of my youth, but in the home where my kids grew up, the traditional took root. With all the hustle and bustle of the holidays who doesn't like the idea of one quick, easy, snacky type meal? I embraced it without a second thought. I know at least one of my kids is carrying on with this tradition.

How can we have Christmas without A Christmas Story? Not going to happen. It's not a tradition from my childhood, but it's a tradition from my children's childhood.

The last tradition that I'll share today. Chocolate covered cherries. My paternal grandfather gave each of us chocolate covered cherries for Christmas, plus enough money to buy a second box after we ate the first box he gave us. A box of chocolate covered cherries conjures up an image of Granddad in his overalls, cigar smoke, the scent of pine trees, cooking ham and zesty oranges. I hear the cackle of Granddad's laughter, Mom rolling pie dough, Dad snoring infront of the heat stove in the living room, my brothers and sister playing, laughing and fighting intermingled with my own kids laughing, playing and fighting. That box of chocolate covered cherries blends over five decades of Christmases into one fantastic image that includes hearing, seeing, smelling, touch and love.

Merry Christmas to each and everyone of you.