“Peace on earth and mercy mild are still possible. On Christmas Eve, all things are possible.”
Today was always the best day of the year when I was a kid. It was filled with anticipation. The minutes passed slowly. We stayed around the house. I remember watching A Christmas Carol and in the late afternoon Santa from New Hampshire said his good-byes. He walked away with his bag over his shoulder. Dinner on Christmas Eve was never a formal affair. We wouldn’t have been able to sit at the table for long had it been; instead, we had sandwiches followed by Christmas cookies. I always liked the Santa cookie.
In the early evening, we got to open one present, the pajamas and new slippers. The slippers were always wool slipper socks with leather soles. I even have a pair now. They are a bit ratty. I had to mend holes using yarn, but the slippers still serve their purpose. The pajamas were jersey with cuffs at the wrists and ankles. They were warm.
Because the darkness came early, it seemed right to argue for a bedtime sooner than usual. I figured time would pass quickly if I were asleep and not clock watching. My mother always said no. She knew how difficult it always is to fall asleep Christmas Eve.
We entertained ourselves by watching TV, and I sometimes read. When I was deep into a book, I never noticed the time passing.
The ritual before bed was to hang our stockings. They were placed oldest to youngest on the stair rail. We had been guaranteed that Santa didn’t need a chimney.
I swear the Christmas tree look brighter and the lights in the windows shined further on Christmas Eve. It is a magical night, a night for believers.
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December 24, 2023 at 5:03 pm
Hi Kat,
Today is mostly cloudy with periods of some heavy rain. The high temperature is the current high of 66°.
When I was a kid we always hung up our stockings on the mantle and my parents filled them with candy or small toys. We always knew that Christmas was not our holiday, but my parents didn’t want us to feel left out on Christmas morning. We just told our kids, we don’t celebrate Christmas, get over it. 🙂
Tomorrow we are going to lunch at a local Chinese restaurant. We already checked that they will be open. That’s one of our family’s Christmas Day traditions. Unfortunately, they don’t have roasted Christmas duck on their menu. Another Jewish tradition for Christmas Day is to go to the movies. We have a movie room upstairs, and so we don’t have to put up with the crowds at the local movie emporium. But who knows how the day will develop.
To all the folks on Coffee and especially to our hostess Kat, Have a very, very Merry Christmas.
December 24, 2023 at 6:44 pm
HI Bob,
It has been raining on and off here but only a little rain. Today was warm, 46°.
We didn’t have a mantle when I was young. We did have one when we moved to the cape. When I was an adult, my mother found neat things to use as stockings like Peterborough baskets, a famous company of baskets. She put in small toys and games when I was a kid. I loved my stockings. They were filled with fun and chocolate!
No duck! We always had a great Christmas dinner with a roast of sorts, usually beef. When I was older, we used to watch basketball, the Celtics who played every other Christmas Day.
Thank you!!!
December 24, 2023 at 10:05 pm
I was referring to the Chinese Christmas duck that the characters in the movie, “The Christmas Story”, ate after the Bumpas’s hounds ate their turkey. Honey baked ham seems as a typical Christmas lunch or dinner.
December 24, 2023 at 10:12 pm
I knew exactly what you were talking about. I was just wondering why no duck at your Chinese restaurant. I can still see the neck of that bird!
We often had a crown roast beef. My mother bought ham for Christmas Eve.
December 25, 2023 at 8:56 pm
A few of the restaurants in Chinatown have ducks hanging by their necks in the window.
December 25, 2023 at 12:04 pm
I don’t know why they don’t have duck.