From Barbara Woodmansee:
Best Gift I ever received: the gigantic styrofoam T Rex skeleton I got when I was 6. My Dad and I built it together and after several years only the head was left and we hung it over my bed. It scared my sister so much at night that my parents moved her into my Dad’s study and I got to have my very own room.
Which Christmas Song Do I Hope Never to Hear Again: Santa Baby. Please God!!
Unusual Christmas Tradition: listening to Dylan Thomas read “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” and then “Fern Hill” at night when it’s cold, with all the lights off every year. All those perfect, perfect words spoken in that splendid voice...Time held me green and dying, though I sang in my chains like the sea will always make me cry. This tradition will die with me because my kids Just Don’t Get It.
Not Christian, but Christmas means to me: the earth-based celebration of the returning of the light. Knowing that even though it’s cold and dark (but not really in Florida), the sun will come back and we’ll all try again to rise and bloom for another year.
And from Dawn Hewitt:
What is the best gift you have ever received?
An accurate watercolor painting of my beloved dog Eddie, who had died a few months prior.
Have you ever given or received a partridge in a pear tree?
Serious birder that I am, I have never even seen a live partridge, unfortunately. (Both partridges
found in North America, chukar and gray partridge, are native to Asia, anyhow.)
Which would you rather receive as a gift, a thing or an event?
An event, absolutely. I have way, way, way too many things. It’s embarrassing and shameful how
much stuff I have.
How do you feel about cash as a gift?
Not for me, thanks. No. Give it to a worthy cause: The Nature Conservancy, or a local land trust, or
The Humane Society, or a food bank.
Do you have a favorite Christmas movie?
“Christmas Story.” Somebody needs to make a winter solstice movie!
What Christmas song to you hope never to hear again?
“Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” which suggests date rape.
What, if anything, makes you sad this time of year?
Consumerism and its role in climate change. But I feel that way year ‘round.
How has the Christmas season changed since you were a kid?
Even more commercial than ever.
What are you planning to do to make this holiday season different this year?
Nothing. I am content with my solstice traditions.
Do you or your family have any unusual or amusing holiday traditions?
My tree is the 11-foot tall Norfolk Island Pine that I received as a high school graduation gift in
1976, when it was 4-inches tall. It is my solstice tree! I am not a Christian. I am not religious. So, I
celebrate winter solstice! I celebrate the darkness, and the return of the light! Winter solstice
welcomes longer hours of daylight—and can’t we all agree that the return of the light is worth
celebrating? Thus, I decorate my house with lights, and decorate my 42-year-old solstice tree. My
outdoor (LED) lights stay up from late November through late January, the darkest period of the
year.
Who would you like to come down your chimney?
Donald Trump. He’d get stuck, and he could just stay there for a few years.
If you are not a Christian, what does Christmas mean to you?
I often feel excluded—people assume I am a Christian, or at least that I celebrate Christmas. I
don't. I don’t make a point of telling people that I’m not until they ask about my plans for
Christmas, etc. To me, Christmas is a time for obligatory transactions of gifts. We exchange gifts like
they are trading cards. I hate that. Gift-giving should not be obligatory. Maybe I’d do a better job of
finding gifts for people I love if I wasn’t obliged to do it by a certain date. I wish Christmas was just
a time of year that Christians would celebrate the birth and life of Jesus, and his wonderful
teachings, and skip the commercialism. I would happily endorse an annual celebration of the
wisdom of Jesus. But what does that have to do with consumerism?
I relate to Festivus, for the rest of us, but I am content to celebrate solstice as my winter holiday!
From David Lake:
Maybe you should add a category: Favorite Family Comment About Christmas. My granddaughter's
father is Jewish, her mother is not. At age 5 she explained that she was half Jewish and half
Christmas.
From Janet Parker Hebbel:
What is the best gift you have ever received?
An ermine muff when I was 6
What is the best gift you have ever given?
A 1918 gold coin in a leather and velvet box to my Mother
Have you ever given or received a partridge in a pear tree?
Do 25 George Washingtons on a tree count?
Which would you rather receive as a gift, a thing or an event?
A gift in my hot little hand
How do you feel about cash as a gift?
What’s wrong with cash?
Do you have a favorite Christmas movie?
The Preacher’s Wife (1947)
What Christmas song to you hope never to hear again?
The Chipmunk Song
What, if anything, makes you sad this time of year?
Knowing that there are folks who struggle all year long
How has the Christmas season changed since you were a kid?
It is still a wonder to me.
What are you planning to do to make this holiday season different this year?
Serving pulled pork from our local football barbecue joint
Do you or your family have any unusual or amusing holiday traditions?
Winning the Funny Gift contest...there is an ugly rotating trophy at stake
Who would you like to come down your chimney?
Jesus.
If you are not a Christian, what does Christmas mean to you?
Giving, creativity, kindness, beauty, family
Miguel Palaviccini wrote that the best gift he ever received and gave (in a way) was his three-year-old daughter, Penny. He also noted that while he had never given nor received a partridge in a pear tree, he needs a photo of one because it’s missing from his Life List. Miguel went on to explain about an unusual Christmas tradition:
It’s a tradition that was passed down from my mom’s side of the family. From what I’ve been told, they didn’t have a Christmas tree growing up so Santa had to find clever ways to deliver gifts. I’m glad my mom passed the tradition on to us. On Christmas morning, my brother, sister, and I all woke up early and started our task of finding our presents around the house. This wasn’t as savage as it sounds - there were rules! Santa could only hide presents inside the house and was limited to the downstairs (all of the bedrooms were upstairs). And of course the garage was off limits. Santa also left us a list with the number of presents and their size. The latter would help us determine possible locations to search. If we found a present that didn’t belong to us, we weren’t able to tell our siblings where it was - at least not for the first hour or so. Santa was clever with his hiding locations, but there were always staples that we could count on: under the couch cushions, within dog food bag, inside the dishwasher - to name a few. Childhood gifts are now tied to their hiding location for me. The super nintendo under the couch side table, a fishing pole behind couch cushions, a ninja turtle blimp inside the oven. When I couldn’t find a present, my parents would guide me with a game of hot/cold. I never questioned how they knew where Santa hid presents - but I’m guessing he probably left them letter with the key.
As the years passed and we all learned the truth, our parents decided that placing the presents under the tree would be good enough. Wrong! At least that is what my brother and I decided. On Christmas Eve, we each had 30 minutes to hide the other’s presents. As we hid, we made a list of the item, the size, and its location (for reference since we inevitably forgot by next morning where we hid one or two of them). The next morning it was a race to see who could find all of their presents first. As the years passed, the hiding locations got more intricate. Presents found their way to the inside of couch cushions, taped to the bottom side of tables, delicately placed on the top portion of a ceiling fan blade, inside of used cereal boxes, … and in 2010 (the final year) … I topped them all by building fake back to a kitchen cabinet that would be the hiding place for a present that measured over 3 feet long and over 1 foot wide. That year, in order for my brother to get the present, he had to sign a paper that stated that he resigned from the present finding competition - making me the reigning champ.
Penny is three years old this Christmas - she’s not going to miss out.
However and whatever you celebrate, don’t miss out. Even if you choose to celebrate missing out.
That was really fun, David.
ReplyDeleteMiguel brought tears to my eyes with the photo of the ‘contract’ with his brother.
A treasure, He kept. 😊 great memories.