Holiday Traditions
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This time of year, my mind - and my heart – reminisce about the seasonal traditions from my childhood. As a child, I loved going to midnight mass on Christmas Eve with my grandparents. I was so enamored with the rituals of the Catholic church, the pomp and circumstance. The sound of my grandfather’s voice singing the hymns from the depth of his soul will be with me always.
I remember my grandparents’ modest house full of people - all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins gathered in their small home; unimaginable piles of gifts not just under, but burying the tree, and hours of opening gifts; never-ending platters of cookies and dishes of hard candies on every table, and traditional Norwegian foods like lefse, krumkake, torsk, and the dreaded lutefisk!
These days the holidays are simpler and more spread out. We have lots of mini celebrations to accommodate busy schedules and multiple families, usually on whatever days work and rarely on the actual holiday. The krumkake and lefse are bought from a local bakery instead of homemade and, sorry, Grandma, there is no lutefisk in this house. Christmas Eve is quiet at our house. Our kids spend the evening with their other parents or parents of their partners. Our Amish neighbors will visit early in the evening to sing Christmas carols and to exchange simple, but thoughtful, gifts. Each of their seven children brings a small gift for Mark and me, and one for Mark’s dad, Ed, who lives with us. We give simple gifts of candy and sweets to each of them as well.
In fact, there are very few holiday traditions from my childhood that remain. I embrace the new traditions as I remember, fondly, the old ones. Amidst the new traditions, there will always be dishes of hard candies and the sound of my grandfather’s voice, if not in my ears, in my heart.
Each December, at Green Lotus, we ask members of our wonderful staff to share some of their favorite recipes. This year we asked them to share their seasonal traditions as well. From our hearths to yours, we hope you enjoy the recipes, the stories, and the memories that we share with you this year.
