Christmas!
Stole this Christmas meme from another blog. I love Christmas so I really didn't mind doing this one.
Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Oh man. Neither really. I can handle egg nog if it's been cut with a LOT of milk (more milk than egg nog) and I have hot chocolate once or twice a year.
Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Goodness, I have no idea. Never really given Santa much thought.
Colored lights on tree/house or white?
You honestly don't want to get me started on lights. I don't know if J-L and I will ever be able to have lights on our house. We are just THAT fussy. We often look at other homes during this time of year and criticize their lights. (I know, shameful, aren't we?) They have to be straight. VERY straight. And they all have to be the same colour or there has to been a very clear pattern. And don't even get me started on how we feel if there are several lights missing, let alone a whole section. It makes me shudder just thinking about it. As for on the tree? White.
Do you hang mistletoe?
Never have. But the blog that I got this from once had live mistletoe and that I think I would hang up.
When do you put your decorations up?
December 1stish. We "usually" (and by usually you know what I mean since we've only been married 2.5 years) do it the first Saturday after the first.
What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Oh man. Stuffing or bubbat. Or perogies. Or cabbage rolls. Or waffles with vanilla cream sauce. Basically, my mom's food. Mmm. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.
Favorite holiday memory as a child:
Too many to count. I was very blessed as a child. Still am.
When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I never believed in santa. My parents were very strong on Christmas being Jesus' birthday. Very strong. We didn't use wrapping paper that had santa on it and we didn't have our photos taken with santa. At the school Christmas concert most of the kids got gifts from santa but we didn't. It wasn't the easiest thing in the world but we knew not to expect our names to be called. Except for one year. One glorious year. I was being stalwart and brave putting on the impression that I didn't care as the other schoolchildren got their presents. And my name was called. (I still get goosebumps remembering that feeling.) I couldn't believe my ears. I thought there was a mistake at first. But there wasn't. My name was called! The delight. I still remember the gift. Vividly. A 64 box of crayons. The one with the sharpener on the side. The one with the gold and silver crayons included. What a brilliantly impractical gift from parents who didn't necessarily always have the money to go the impractical route.
Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
No. We always opened our gifts Christmas. In the afternoon. LATE afternoon. It was torture on us as small children. But, our first Christmas together J-L made me open a gift on Christmas Eve. It was a nice treat. We may keep that tradition. Who knows.
How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
All in icy blue and silver these days. But that will change. I can't stay with the same theme forever.
Snow! Love it or Dread it?
Oh, it's not as simple as all that. Not for me. I figure if it's going to be cold out there may as well be white as I prefer that over grey/brown. But, driving in a snowstorm is up there as one of my least favorite things in the entire world.
Can you ice skate?
Yes. Not well but I can manage.
Do you remember your favorite gift?
Oh goodness, no. There have been so many. Like the bookends that Joyska made with quotes about reading all over them. Or the calendar that Pam made (I think Corrie helped). Or the crockpot that J-L gave me. Or the hamster that my brother and sister-in-law gave me. (That squeaked on its wheel in the room I was sleeping in all night the night before Christmas, confusing me completely.) Or the guitar that my parents splurged on one year. So many great gifts.
What's the most important thing about the holidays for you?
Hands down, being with people. Family and friends. Dinners and games and visiting and bowling and laughing and movies and... Oh, I just love it so.
What is your favorite holiday dessert?
Sorry, nothing comes to mind. I'm not that much of a dessert person.
What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Christmas. My family around me. Dad opening his leatherbound Bible to read from Luke. Or Isaiah. And now that Dad's gone we still use that Bible at Christmas. It just seems right. (I'll do my best to remember to bring it along to Calgary this year.)
What tops your tree?
A very basic silver wire star. I tend to like simple. And yet, when I decided to go for the silver/icy blue theme I could NOT find a silver tree topper that I liked. Drove me crazy. (Probably drove J-L crazy too as he went from store to store with me.) Eventually, I bought a gold star and spray painted it silver.
Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
I know it's not politically correct to say it but I like both. I really do. I LOVE giving a gift that I know someone will like and sitting there anticipating it being opened. But I also love feeling the love as I unwrap something that someone picked out just for me.
What is your favorite Christmas song?
Okay, this could so easily end up being a longwinded answer. I'm sorry. But, the thing is, I LOVE Christmas carols. And it makes me so happy that my church sings some of the traditional ones. My church doesn't sing enough hymns for my liking but at Christmas they bring out some of the oldies. I'm quite fond of "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing". "Silent Night" nearly everyone knows and I do love listening to it quietly being song by many voices. "Angels We Have Heard on High" has a neat alto entry that makes me think of my mom and her handle of the alto line. "Good King Wenceslas" also makes me think of my mom and how we like to sing it together and I also love the crescendo and diminuendo of that song that helps convey the story. "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" makes me think of my dad which is odd since it's not his favorite song or anything. But, I very clearly remember him pondering the line "there is no peace on earth" when reading the Time magazine once. "Who is He in Yonder Stall?" makes me think of my sister. Heather and I performed it in our church once. A clarinet and flute duet. But, like I said, I'm droning on. All things considered, my current favorite Christmas carol is (drumroll, please) "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" for these lines:
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Oh man. Neither really. I can handle egg nog if it's been cut with a LOT of milk (more milk than egg nog) and I have hot chocolate once or twice a year.
Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Goodness, I have no idea. Never really given Santa much thought.
Colored lights on tree/house or white?
You honestly don't want to get me started on lights. I don't know if J-L and I will ever be able to have lights on our house. We are just THAT fussy. We often look at other homes during this time of year and criticize their lights. (I know, shameful, aren't we?) They have to be straight. VERY straight. And they all have to be the same colour or there has to been a very clear pattern. And don't even get me started on how we feel if there are several lights missing, let alone a whole section. It makes me shudder just thinking about it. As for on the tree? White.
Do you hang mistletoe?
Never have. But the blog that I got this from once had live mistletoe and that I think I would hang up.
When do you put your decorations up?
December 1stish. We "usually" (and by usually you know what I mean since we've only been married 2.5 years) do it the first Saturday after the first.
What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Oh man. Stuffing or bubbat. Or perogies. Or cabbage rolls. Or waffles with vanilla cream sauce. Basically, my mom's food. Mmm. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.
Favorite holiday memory as a child:
Too many to count. I was very blessed as a child. Still am.
When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I never believed in santa. My parents were very strong on Christmas being Jesus' birthday. Very strong. We didn't use wrapping paper that had santa on it and we didn't have our photos taken with santa. At the school Christmas concert most of the kids got gifts from santa but we didn't. It wasn't the easiest thing in the world but we knew not to expect our names to be called. Except for one year. One glorious year. I was being stalwart and brave putting on the impression that I didn't care as the other schoolchildren got their presents. And my name was called. (I still get goosebumps remembering that feeling.) I couldn't believe my ears. I thought there was a mistake at first. But there wasn't. My name was called! The delight. I still remember the gift. Vividly. A 64 box of crayons. The one with the sharpener on the side. The one with the gold and silver crayons included. What a brilliantly impractical gift from parents who didn't necessarily always have the money to go the impractical route.
Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
No. We always opened our gifts Christmas. In the afternoon. LATE afternoon. It was torture on us as small children. But, our first Christmas together J-L made me open a gift on Christmas Eve. It was a nice treat. We may keep that tradition. Who knows.
How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
All in icy blue and silver these days. But that will change. I can't stay with the same theme forever.
Snow! Love it or Dread it?
Oh, it's not as simple as all that. Not for me. I figure if it's going to be cold out there may as well be white as I prefer that over grey/brown. But, driving in a snowstorm is up there as one of my least favorite things in the entire world.
Can you ice skate?
Yes. Not well but I can manage.
Do you remember your favorite gift?
Oh goodness, no. There have been so many. Like the bookends that Joyska made with quotes about reading all over them. Or the calendar that Pam made (I think Corrie helped). Or the crockpot that J-L gave me. Or the hamster that my brother and sister-in-law gave me. (That squeaked on its wheel in the room I was sleeping in all night the night before Christmas, confusing me completely.) Or the guitar that my parents splurged on one year. So many great gifts.
What's the most important thing about the holidays for you?
Hands down, being with people. Family and friends. Dinners and games and visiting and bowling and laughing and movies and... Oh, I just love it so.
What is your favorite holiday dessert?
Sorry, nothing comes to mind. I'm not that much of a dessert person.
What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Christmas. My family around me. Dad opening his leatherbound Bible to read from Luke. Or Isaiah. And now that Dad's gone we still use that Bible at Christmas. It just seems right. (I'll do my best to remember to bring it along to Calgary this year.)
What tops your tree?
A very basic silver wire star. I tend to like simple. And yet, when I decided to go for the silver/icy blue theme I could NOT find a silver tree topper that I liked. Drove me crazy. (Probably drove J-L crazy too as he went from store to store with me.) Eventually, I bought a gold star and spray painted it silver.
Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
I know it's not politically correct to say it but I like both. I really do. I LOVE giving a gift that I know someone will like and sitting there anticipating it being opened. But I also love feeling the love as I unwrap something that someone picked out just for me.
What is your favorite Christmas song?
Okay, this could so easily end up being a longwinded answer. I'm sorry. But, the thing is, I LOVE Christmas carols. And it makes me so happy that my church sings some of the traditional ones. My church doesn't sing enough hymns for my liking but at Christmas they bring out some of the oldies. I'm quite fond of "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing". "Silent Night" nearly everyone knows and I do love listening to it quietly being song by many voices. "Angels We Have Heard on High" has a neat alto entry that makes me think of my mom and her handle of the alto line. "Good King Wenceslas" also makes me think of my mom and how we like to sing it together and I also love the crescendo and diminuendo of that song that helps convey the story. "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" makes me think of my dad which is odd since it's not his favorite song or anything. But, I very clearly remember him pondering the line "there is no peace on earth" when reading the Time magazine once. "Who is He in Yonder Stall?" makes me think of my sister. Heather and I performed it in our church once. A clarinet and flute duet. But, like I said, I'm droning on. All things considered, my current favorite Christmas carol is (drumroll, please) "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" for these lines:
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
posted by ccap at 9:40 AM
6 Comments:
I once heard a really awesome version of O Come O Come Emmanuel. If I ever find out who it's by, I'll get it and let you hear. I heard it about 2 years ago and since then, it's also been once of my favorites. That was a fun post!
Our parents didn't believe in having Santa Claus either -- in general they wanted to stress the meaningfulness of Christmas and not the commercialism. I really appreciated that. I also love the song O Come O Come Emmanuel -- maybe because I like the whole Advent season almost as much as Christmas itself. I love the buildup and anticipation, lighting a new candle each week.
What is bubbat?
Clarinet and flute-you never told me!
Awww... you brought back so many good memories. Smile.
I loved reading your answers!! I got the box of crayons with the sharpener in the side one year, too. I was so in awe of the sharpener. It was just genius, and so convenient. Yes, I was (and remain) a big nerd.
I can feel your love for the season in every line you write. Christmas reminds me of you; putting up Christmas decorations and choosing them reminds me of you; choosing how to celebrate in a new country reminds me of you...
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