Yuletide Memories

My earliest holiday memories are not real memories – they’re memories of watching Super8 film of my youngest Christmas mornings. Memories like the teddy bear that came the year I turned 4, which I apparently hated from the moment I saw it — the scowl on my face apparent even in the grainy silent film (I never did like that bear). The uncombed mop of curls, the boys’ pajamas I wore that year that were a yardsale find, like nearly everything else we owned at the time.

No, the real memories I have of the holiday season of my early childhood are more visceral – the soft scent of fresh pine (we always had a real tree). The clicking sound of my dad’s Lionel train running around the track – an O gage train, given for his 5th birthday, which to this day gets packed back in its original box after the holidays each year – coupled with the hum of the transformer that ran it and the acrid smell of the burning oil that made the smokestack work. The soft flickering glow of large lights on the tree, some flashing, some with the tall bubbling lights. The taste of hot chocolate and the vaguely scratchy feel of hand crocheted scarves, made with cheap yarn. The deep bass of the pipe organ in my parents’ church.

What memories are we giving our children this Yule? I suggest thinking in terms of the senses, not just in terms of the presents…and certainly not in terms of the family drama that so often overshadows the holidays for so many of us.

Scent is a good place to start. Maybe some fresh pine – it’s traditional (even Pagan), and a lovely reminder of life even amongst the cold and snow here in the dark of the year. Other smells might include baking (my grandmother’s “Kentucky Bourbon Cake” aka fruit cake, for example, smells amazing while it’s cooking — I think it’s probably the bourbon). I also associate citrus with the winter holidays because we’re celebrating the return of the sun after the longest night, so things like pomander balls [1] might be good too.

Cooking also brings up the idea of taste – this season is certainly known for its flavors, like peppermint, chocolate covered cherry, and the like. I keep thinking that one of these days I’ll manage to stay up and greet the sun, and I really think a glass of orange juice, or maybe a glass of sangria, would be appropriate.

Sight brings in all the lights of the seasons and other decorations. Lights are a big deal this time of year because it’s so dark. Do the lights at your house flash? Are they all white, or lots of colors? Do you have real candles lit in the evenings, or just the flickering LED kind? LEDs are our plan this year, with a child on oxygen, we’re not supposed to have open flames. Are your decorations all different sorts of things collected over the years, or centered around a theme, or all the same color? Each gives a different feel, and that’s something to consider.

Touch too – sharp pine needles, snow, smooth glass ornaments. If you’re giving gifts, are they wrapped in paper, or in reusable cloth bags? What about velvet and satin clothes that are popular for children’s holiday photos? Warm fuzzy blankets are a favorite here too.
Whatever your holiday traditions are, or whatever new traditions you make this year, I hope you have a wonderful time, and make some great memories for your family.

[1] an orange studded with cloves and rolled in spices, sometimes also made with other fruits. See http://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-161 for instructions

Holiday Blessings,
Janet