Too much turkey can put me under the table for three days...Tonight I am ordering pizza.
The others have talked a bit about giving thanks, and what the recently past holiday means. To me, Thanksgiving is the beginning of the year end holidays; Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Yuletide. No matter what your faith or beliefs, this end of year gaiety and feeling of love is almost universal.
I feel thankful for another year of healthy life, and for the health of my kids and grandkids. Every day that passes with no major horror happening in the world is something to be thankful for. We are headed into the darkness before the light...the winter solstice and the shortest day of the year, and the longest night. The beauty of the yule logs, the Christmas hearth and tree, the candles of Hannukah and Kwanzaa...the symbols of returning light into a world of darkness, are all beautiful and welcome in my home.
I put the Nativity Scene beneath my Christmas Tree, the brass Menorah on my coffee table, the kinara candles on my sidebar...an antique handmade angel sits atop my tree that came from an old box of ornaments my family had for over 40 years before I was old enough to understand what was going on.
We give gold-wrapped chocolate coins or gelt and light one candle a night. We have had many Jewish friends over the years, and several neighbors who invited us to Kwanzaa celebrations. I find all the year end traditions and ceremonies so beautiful and warming. At Thanksgiving we eat turkey. But instead of a big ham on Christmas, we started celebrating with home made enchiladas because it involves everyone in the meal prep and feast!
So welcome to my wonderfully eclectic holiday season...and I hope you all enjoyed Thanksgiving in the USA!
Fran
I put the Nativity Scene beneath my Christmas Tree, the brass Menorah on my coffee table, the kinara candles on my sidebar...an antique handmade angel sits atop my tree that came from an old box of ornaments my family had for over 40 years before I was old enough to understand what was going on.
We give gold-wrapped chocolate coins or gelt and light one candle a night. We have had many Jewish friends over the years, and several neighbors who invited us to Kwanzaa celebrations. I find all the year end traditions and ceremonies so beautiful and warming. At Thanksgiving we eat turkey. But instead of a big ham on Christmas, we started celebrating with home made enchiladas because it involves everyone in the meal prep and feast!
So welcome to my wonderfully eclectic holiday season...and I hope you all enjoyed Thanksgiving in the USA!
Fran
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I love the sound of your eclectic and inclusive holiday fare Fran. Enjoy the season!
ReplyDeleteI love it Fran! Your holidays sound like mine. My favorite Christmas treat is homemade tamales served "Christmas-style" with red and green tomatillo & red achiote pepper sauce on top. Working the masa takes so long and requires so many hands it's a good excuse to lure the women into the kitchen and enjoy the good company.
ReplyDeleteNote to Julia: Grandma's gone now so she doesn't know we don't add manteca to the masa anymore-it's vegetarian-but that's our secret. Hush... lol
XXOO Kat
Oh, I love to include a bit of everyone's tradition in my Christmas, Pamela! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi, Kat! Thanks for the kind words. There is nothing as much fun as having my done mixing up a batch of homemade flour tortillas, my daughters-in-law working on the beans and the enchilada sauce, my daughter seasoning the meat, and my other son being the "taste-tester".
ReplyDelete