Saturday, December 23, 2020
Sandra Pagel
Christmas Traditions
Traditions, the spirit of Christmas.
In my childhood, Christmas was a blend of Western and Eastern Christianity. My father’s family came to this country from England via Canada bringing Anglicism. My maternal grandparents emigrated to NYC in the late 1880’s from Galicia, the northernmost part of Austria, and with them came their Russian Orthodox faith and calendar. Church services filled with carols and chants brought the message of this holy season. Christmas celebrations began on December 6th, honoring St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra. On that morning, if good, we would find a small gift under our pillow. Family Christmas Day feasts on December 25th and January 7th (Orthodox) finished with singing and dancing. The tree was put up on the 24th and not taken down until mid-January, Epiphany (Orthodox). Food was constantly being prepared, be it kippers, tea cakes, stroganoff, pierogies, or festival cookies for our gatherings or to help fill the baskets at St. George’s Church for community giving.
Married, my husband, Harry’s Swedish heritage combined with mine. St. Lucia Day on December 13th, a festival of lights, would be celebrated by my daughter serving saffron buns in the early morn by candle light. New decorations of straw or painted ornaments were added; Swedish meatballs, herring, lingonberries and vort limpa (sweet bread) would be on the table; and, the family feasts moved to our house in Connecticut. Local events to serve others and to gather for the pageant, St. Nicholas tea and carol on the village green on Christmas Eve before services at St. Mark’s expanded traditions.
Now, the tree goes up on December 6th, the Haitian carved crèche is in place on the buffet, the same carols and chant warm the soul, and daily reflections from all at St. John’s start the day. The sweet smells and tastes from the kitchen are prepared mostly for others. Our family comes together at my daughter’s Seacoast home with new treats including my son-in-law’s special coffees at dinner’s end.
While new customs and rituals have been combined with the past, traditions, the spirit of Christmas, continue to bring instantaneous and lingering moments of comfort, joy and hope.