Christmas Traditions.

4 1/2 weeks until Christmas !

I start planning in January, don't do anything until November and panic in December. So far this year I've sent off parcels, bought or thought about most people's presents and today I made 2 big stockings for the girls in our family.

All this got me thinking about our family Christmas traditions. I'm one of those people who really loves things to always stay the same, I know - I'm hoping to move to the other side of the world but then I can begin some new traditions. Because that's where most of our family traditions have come from - me! As a child my family consisted of my mother and myself, we were very poor and from a different culture. I don't think we did celebrate much. In fact I only have 2 childhood memories of Christmas Day, one where we stayed with a family in Stamford and the other when we went to dinner with some arts patrons. I remember that time because I was given the printed stocking above, which although only 10" high , was filled with many small wooden toys each wrapped in tissue paper. It was a very clever way of keeping a small child occupied during a long dinner. It was such a lovely idea that when we had our boys I made them all stockings which would be filled with small items individually wrapped, these were opened as soon they awoke and kept them happy first thing in the morning. And I still do this. We do keep the Lithuanian tradition of having a special meal on Christmas Eve. This meal should have 12 dishes and should not include any meat. I do a buffet style meal with different kinds of herrings, smoked fish and salads. The meal starts by breaking bread and saying Grace. One of our family traditions is to go for a walk in the afternoon of Christmas Eve, that was to expend some of the boys' energy and also to give a quiet interlude before all the cooking and general kitchen work. Since moving here we have always gone to Midnight Mass at one of the local village churches. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ, He is the whole point of it all. There are so many people in this country who have no faith and I wonder what they are celebrating. I get really cross and think why don't they celebrate Yule or Midwinter and not be such hypocrites, wanting a party and presents and not acknowledging Christ except as part of a cute Nativity scene. But then I think that at least there is just the tiniest awareness of Christ which may one day lead to wanting to know more.

So we go as a family to Midnight Mass, I have to admit that this also had the advantage of ensuring that the boys fell asleep straight away when we got home so that I didn't have to wait long before creeping round and filling the stockings. There is always an overflow pile of small presents which is why I made the girls' stockings bigger. Breakfast is coffee and croissants then when everyone has emerged we gather around the tree, (always real) and the youngest person - Romas, hands out the presents. When the boys were little the tree wasn't put up until they had gone to sleep on Christmas Eve but now we usually decorate it a few days before. Our parents and other relatives used to give money for the boys and I would combine it and buy each boy one big present from Santa. That way they had some lovely presents that lasted for years. Now it's just a massive present pile. Despite having the Christmas Eve meal we then have a full on dinner. I'm not fond of turkey (taste, defrosting, cooking and dealing with afterwards), and usually try to persuade the family to have something else but they do like turkey with all the trimmings. After that it's general collapse with maybe a walk up the hill . I'm worn out just thinking about it but as this may be our last family Christmas at Dingles I shall make every effort to make it special.

This osteospermum in the garden was still flowering today despite the wind and shortening days.