Today's post is part of the Absolute Write December Blog Chain. This month's prompt: Home for the holidays. Write about a holiday memory. It can be fiction or non-fiction.
I have chosen both fiction and non-fiction. The following story is based on three Christmas traditions we had when I was growing up, which I hope to continue when I have kids. Those traditions are:
~Making cookies
~Placing the baby Jesus in the nativity scene on Christmas Eve
~Eating cake for breakfast and singing Happy Birthday to Jesus
After reading, please check out the links for the other participants in this month's blog chain. Enjoy!
The whole family was celebrating Christmas at Grandma’s this year. When everybody was there on Christmas Eve, my cousins and I surrounded Grandma’s table, eager to start baking cookies. I sat impatiently as Grandma rolled the cookie dough out for us. As soon as she was done, I grabbed a star-shaped cookie cutter and got started.
“I want that one,” my cousin Jessie whined.
I glanced up from the table. Jessie wasn’t talking to me; she was fighting with her brother Joey. Grandma reached for the tree-shaped cookie cutter my two cousins were having a tug of war with. “Can’t you two learn to share?” Grandma asked.
I went back to work on my cookies, thankful my cousins didn’t care about the star, but I was sad, too. I liked the star because it made me think of the star that shone in the sky the night baby Jesus was born. I wished my cousins understood the true meaning of Christmas.
Once we had a few cookie sheets full of decorated cookie dough, Grandma put them in the oven. The smell of sugar cookies soon filled the house. My cousins and I went to play in the back living room while the cookies baked.
“Hey, it’s missing something.”
Jessie and I looked up from our game to see what Joey was talking about. He was studying the manger scene on Grandma’s table. Jessie stood and went over to her brother. “Hey, the baby’s gone!”
“Well duh!” Joey replied. “I said something was missing.”
“Baby Jesus isn’t supposed to be there yet,” I replied, remaining on the floor. “Grandma let’s me put him there before we go to bed. Because Jesus was born on Christmas.”
Each of them rolled their eyes at me. “Who cares when he was born? I just want the presents!” Joey stated.
Jessie nodded in agreement. “I wonder what Santa will bring us?”
I just shook my head. Jesus was more important than Santa. Didn’t they know that?
Grandma wouldn’t let us eat any cookies until after dinner. Joey and Jessie ate a whole pan full, but I only ate a couple. I didn’t want to go to bed with a full tummy because I wanted to have plenty of room for the birthday cake. I was helping grandma put the frosting on it when Joey and Jessie ran into the kitchen. “We get cake too?” Jessie asked.
“Not so fast,” Grandma replied, pulling Joey’s hand away from the cake. He still managed to get a scoop of frosting on his finger, and he licked it greedily. “That’s for breakfast.”
“We get cake for breakfast? Cool!” Joey said.
“Mommy and Daddy never let us eat dessert for breakfast!” Jessie added.
“Well tomorrow is a special day. Tomorrow is the day we celebrate Jesus’ birthday. And this cake is for Him.”
I nodded happily. Jesus’ birthday was the best day ever. My cousins shrugged as if the reason for the cake didn’t matter, but it mattered to me. And when I went to bed later, I looked out the window and stared at the sky. “Thank you, Jesus.”
Here is a list of the other participants:
orion_mk3
Ralph Pines
pyrosama
AbielleRose
Domoviye
areteus
Alynza
SuzanneSeese
robeiae
MamaStrong
Kimberlycreates
darnzen
LilGreenBookworm
AuburnAssassin
more to be added...
Cookies, family and the spirit that pulls on our past! Celebration and the smell of goodies, you can't go wrong there! :)
ReplyDeleteSweet story. I found you through absolute write. Nice to *meet* you.
ReplyDeleteThank you both for the comments. And @inluvwithwords: Nice to meet you too. :)
ReplyDeleteJesus is the reason for the season! Wonderful, heart warming post.
ReplyDelete@Sue: Yes, Jesus is the reason for the season. Thank you for the compliment.
ReplyDeleteLet's try this again. :) I really enjoyed your blog post. Family traditions are very important to keep. Thank you for allowing us into your life a bit. Your grandmother sounds like such a sweet and loving woman. I have never heard of having cake for breakfast to celebrate Jesus's birth, but that's a fantastic idea. I loved reading your passion about what Christmas is really about.
ReplyDeleteSarah---MamaStrong :)
Thanks, Sarah!
ReplyDeleteIt warmed my heart reading your story. To have a child realize and understand the true meaning of Christmas is awesome! And so is the birthday cake for breakfast. I may just have to start a new tradition. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's a cute tradition. I wish we'd done it in my family, but half would have thought it sacrilegious and the other half hypereligious :)
ReplyDeleteNice story. I like cake for breakfast as long as I have coffee with it. Mmmm.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet story! My family is not very religious but even then, we celebrate the love we have for one another instead of the presents. I'd never heard of the cake-for-breakfast tradition, but that sounds like a great way to teach children about the true meaning of Christmas.
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of birthday cake to celebrate on Christmas morning! Thanks for sharing this sweet story!
ReplyDeleteVery sweet.
ReplyDelete