Something about December. No matter what kind of crummy day I may have had, I inevitably find myself humming Frosty, Rudolph or one of the other songs of the season as I walk through Rockefeller Center on the way to the train station at night. What’s a nice Jewish boy from New York know about Christmas? Plenty. My Lovely Bride (MLB) is Catholic and over our past 13 and a half years of marital bliss (plus extra time while we were courting), I’ve been exposed to more Christmas than you can shake a mistletoe sprig at.
I freakin’ love Christmas. I mean, come on. I grew up thinking we Jews had it made with 8 presents, one per night (although in my family, that evolved to 2-3 big presents, then to 1 really expensive one, then finally to a check delivered weeks into January after we tied Mom and Dad down, thrust the checkbook into their hands and told them we’d skip college and spend the rest of our lives behind the counter at Arby’s unless they ponied up with the cash.) But I digress…
Christmas in MLB’s family is unlike anything you’d believe, but everything you’d dream Christmas could be. It’s family spending quality time together, 24/7 holiday music on the stereo, driving around looking at lights, eating and eating and eating some more, homemade pies…and the PRESENTS. The unbridled generosity is overwhelming. Everyone is so thoughtful and generous in their giving, it starts to creep into your thinking the other 11 months of the year. You start taking notes whenever you hear a family member compliment something or mention that they liked something. By the time November rolls around, we’ve usually got a good list going of things you just know the other person forgot mentioning, but they’re gonna love the fact that you remembered. Isn’t it amazing how one thoughtfully selected gift can mean more than a dozen others? (More on gift giving another day.)
And what I’ve found pretty funny is that while many of my Jewish friends would never have a Christmas tree of their own, they LOVE to get invited over to trim the tree, drink hot cider and egg nog and share in the Christmas tradition. They’re not “allowed” on their own but by coming to my house, it’s not like THEY’RE actually doing it. They’re simply being good friends by coming over and helping US out. Whatever works for them. I’m just happy that the holiday has come into my life and I get to share it.
Guess I should’ve expected that when I married a woman born on Christmas Eve.
HO HO HO.
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3 comments:
I think, after 10 years away from family, that I've started to miss having clan around us for the holidays. That may be the result of faulty memory on my part, and a little nostalgia on my boys' behalf...Small family Christmases are grand, but having grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles, cousins and cousins and more cousins...I miss that.
I love this post...Having grown up in a Reformed Jewish home in the New York area, where we celebrated all the Jewish Holidays and lit the candles on Friday nights, etc., And then eventualy growing away from that and always enjoying The Christmas Holidays back then, too, I do love this time of year with the lights and decorations and festive gstherings that go on all through December...many many party's and lovely nights of helping to trim people's trees, as you describe...I know the Holiday has deep religeous meaning for many many people and I appreciate the fact that it's not just about Gift Giving, but, that is a lovely part of this Holiday and I very much get into the spirit of that with much enthusiasm and joy...it sounds like you have the best of both worlds!
This gives me the warm cuddlies when there's an ice blast bearing down on me, due to hit within the next half hour. (I wanted to be Jewish when I was in 4th grade because I loved the ritual, especially the fact that I had no idea what it meant, just felt the "presence" for the lack of a better word. One trip to synagogue and I was ready to convert. Unfortunately I didn't actually know anybody Jewish at the time so I had to settle for becoming an Episcopalian.)
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