Sunday, December 19, 2010

Christmas Magic

I am in love with the holidays again!

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There was a while when I lost the sense of magic I had always had.

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As a child I loved Christmas: the tree, the decorations, the food, the gifts and their wrappings. I became my mother’s helper in baking cookies and wrapping gifts. I made the prettiest bows I could. How a gift looked was as important to me as what was inside it. The cookies were stacked up in tins by the dozens, awaiting Christmas eve.

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We would dress up in our best and drive to my Grandparents’ farm in the hills above our valley in Oregon, for the Christmas Eve dinner with my mother’s family. There was always turkey and stuffing and all of the trimmings. We kids ate around the round oak table in the kitchen. Then there would be one gift for each of us to open, determined by drawing names weeks ago. My aunt played the piano and we sang carols.

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About nine o’clock we would bundle back into the car to drive home, and as we did, we would beg our parents to let us open our gifts right away. So, way past knowing the ‘truth’ about Santa, we would have to pretend that were looking for Rudolf and the sleigh in the sky. When we got home, Mom and Dad would tell us to stay in the car until they got the house warmed up (we had wood heat), while they really scurried around digging out all of the gifts hidden away.

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It wasn’t hard to believe that Santa really had come while we were over the river and through the woods at Grandmother’s house. We were not well off, but we were very appreciative of what we got, and our parents loved creating the magic for our big family. When it was finally time for bed, we all had new flannel PJ’s to wear, snug in our beds.

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I went away to college, and then work, in Seattle, but I always made it home for Christmas, even in 1968, when I brought my new fiancé to meet the family. Tom and I left early Christmas morning that year to spend Christmas day with his family.

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After that year, we had a home of our own, and we began some new traditions. Our first child was born in 1973, and from then on, it was our turn to create the magic. We had many wonderful Christmases, usually with Tom’s family in Washington State, but we usually got together with my big family in Oregon on or near my mother’s birthday on Dec. 28th.

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But alas, kids grow up. They act as if all the ‘fussing’ isn’t necessary, or cool. And the magic faded. I still baked cookies and wrapped pretty packages and decorated the house, but it felt hollow somehow. That is, until there were grandchildren!

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It’s heartwarming to watch Jill create the magic for her kids. Isaac is almost eight but he still believes! He knows it is Santa who puts trinkets in the Advent box. And if he has any doubt, he’s not saying. Who wants to spoil the magic?

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Last year when Jill brought her family to Seattle for Christmas, I had to do everything just like I used to, the same cookies, the same wreath over the mantle, all of it. I guess it was cool after all.

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I get annoyed by those who chant “remember the reason for the season”. We all deserve to celebrate in our own way. The Birth of the Christ Child is a beautiful story, and central to many. But there are so many layers to the season, which in my heritage is built on the ways of the ancestors in the north lands of Europe, centered first of all on the winter solstice, and the return of the light. That light can be the sun and The Son all rolled into one. It can be the evergreen boughs representing life continuing in the dead of winter and the evergreen tree we now call the Christmas tree or the Holiday tree. Santa or Saint Nick or Father Christmas or the jultomten can bring you gifts. It doesn’t matter.

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What matters is the magic!

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So I’m wishing you a

Merry, Magical Christmas

and

at least just a bit more of

Peace On Earth!

14 comments:

  1. Beautifully written; wonderful memories. I enjoyed this so much!

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  2. I enjoyed it too. And you're right: we should all be tolerant of each other. Christmas has been many things to me over the years and now it's a quiet observance. I'm so glad you have found the magic again.

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  3. so true, the reason for the season is family and love...

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  4. Love this post. Very heart-warming. I agree that the magic is returning now that grandkids are in the mix. Love it! Merry Christmas to you and yours.

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  5. You are so right: what matters is the magic! And things were a bit hollow until there were grands -- and those are the most important gifts of all. Merry Christmas, Linda!

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  6. Yes, Merry Christmas to you and your family, Linda! I know your grandkids love the magic, also. Where did it go when we grew up and became cynical?

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  7. Have a magical Christmas, Linda, seeing it with the youngest generation, and yes, let there be peace all over the Earth.

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  8. Have a very MAGICAL CHRISTMAS!
    Your words were right on!

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  9. I love this Linda. You are so right....especially about the grandchildren. There is something so magical about the excitement and anticipation in a child's eyes. I love that.

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  10. Thank you so much for this magical post. Your last paragraph says it all for me. I'm going to try making latkes for my granddaughter.
    Happy Holidays to you and yours!
    Definitely Peace on Earth!!!

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  11. Linda, your post was so magical! It brought back memories of when I was a little girl, waiting for Santa. And then along came my children and like you, the magic came back in a wonderful, new way. I am struggling some this season as the nest is almost empty, and it will never be the same. However Ashton decorated the tree with"her" ornaments and that brought some magic back! I hope one day that grandchildren will awaken the Christmas Magic. It is indeed, a magical time. Wishing you a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy and Healthy New Year. So very glad I have found your blog!

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  12. My mother was a difficult woman but she made memorable Christmases. I did the same for my kids. Now I know they'll pass it along.

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  13. Tack för fina julbilder på bloggen.
    Tack också för Ditt brev. Det var roligt att Du delar med Dig av alla upplevelser som Ni har haft under det år som gått. Jag följer ofta Din blogg och ser att Ni har hälsan och lever ett innehållsrikt liv. Bloggen är väl en fin sak. Vi kommer varandra mycket nära trots att så många mil skiljer oss åt.
    Our love from old Sweden.
    Inga-Britt.

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  14. what a beautifully written holiday post Linda

    love to you and all your family

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