Holiday Traditions give us that nostalgic feeling inside due to the memory. We remember the love, the warm feeling that overcame us and caused us to smile. This could also be called JOY.
Add in the music, friends, and the deliciousness of tasty homemade cookies, meats and spirits, well, you have what we call the merriment. Somewhere along the way, an old Saint Nick entered the picture and lo and behold Santa appeared. More stories abounded the libraries and minds of children and believers everywhere. I’m so excited right now thinking about it all.
Sleigh rides in the snow, Nativity scenes with baby Jesus, Christmas greetings, the magic of Santa, ice skating on ponds, frozen nostrils, viewing our breath over and over, and catching snowflakes on our tongues preceded the hot cocoa with marshmallows our mother’s made for us once our ice laden mittens were removed.
What is magic? I would say its different for everyone, but children play in fantasy up til age seven or nine and this is completely normal growth and development. Later on in my teens and twenties it was the feeling inside, most specifically the snowy Christmas Eve around midnight when all was still, while the covers kept me warm and church bells lingered in my presence. What magic would the world bring me?
Goodness, I knew it would be wonderful. I wanted it so. I believed, so therefore it was. Traditions come and go, or we alter them and add new ones. When we look back it is how we celebrated Christs’ birthday, a season for rebirth. Later on we realize Christmas is for kids! Then we cut back our exchanges and give to others that have none or less than ourselves. We get that feeling that it is better to give than receive. Our Christmas card list decreases or we go green by use of internet cards, etc. And before we know it we’ve begun a new tradition.
It’s okay to adapt our traditions and bring them up to speed, to modernize our thoughts and actions to include others and appreciate differences, especially religious.
My traditions have had several changes over the years from being the child to having my own children. Both were magical, warm and memorable. To my dear fellow bloggers consider this my first newsletter, for it is you who read my blogs which are connected to my writing, photography, humor, and creativity. There’s music in there somewhere. I’m not sure where this is going, if anywhere, but since I learned (after all everyone starts somewhere) how to, my novel ideas and fresh thoughts may urge me to write again.
MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!
My novel Into the Vines and novella String the Cranberries from NaNoWriMo 2013 are both FREE on Christmas Day December 25th, 2015 as my gift to many for the gift I’ve received, the magic of writing.
By Kim Troike
Caroline Clemens 