When I was a child, the holiday season was simple and enjoyable—at least through my little girl's eyes.
On December 24, we’d have a light dinner and then go to bed, so we’d be ready for the Christmas Eve celebration. In reality, this gave my mother time to put the finishing touches on the preparations for Christmas Eve.
We’d wake up with a mix of sleep-sticky eyes and excitement for New Year’s Eve. However, our first stop was midnight Mass. In our family, we weren’t very religious; we practiced more out of tradition. For us, midnight Mass was pure fun; we’d spend the hour laughing at the headdresses people in the congregation were wearing or at that famous hymn Christian Midnight, which got messed up every year. We just had to make sure our mom didn't catch us.
Then we would head over to the home of one of my father’s siblings. That’s the side of the family where the party pognait. A total of 18 adults and 21 kids—that meant a lot of deviled eggs and crustless sandwiches! We usually didn't get home until 5 a.m.
On the 25th, we slept in. If I woke up before the rest of the family, I’d stay in my room playing with my presents or go down to the basement to watch a movie.
Around 4 p.m., we were all dressed up, in the car, on our way to Grandma’s house. As soon as we arrived, we’d race down the basement stairs, munching on little cocktail sausages, to build forts out of stepladders, blankets, and clotheslines we could find. Over time, we traded the forts for Mario Kart, on Route 64.
The 26th was my favorite part. We'd wake up to find presents under the tree, and we'd was having brunch. We spent the whole day in our pajamas, finally able to eat the candy canes that were on the Christmas tree.
These days, Christmas is a real headache. Every year, it’s different. There aren’t really any traditions anymore. We don’t laugh at midnight Mass anymore, and we don’t eat deviled eggs. Around November, we start asking each other if we’re available on the 24th or the 25th, if we’ll be in the Lower St. Lawrence region or in Cuba. If not, we’d do it on the 27th. It all boils down to a family dinner, and by 9 p.m., everyone’s gone.
I find that sad, because Christmas is for all ages. I hope to find a way to establish a tradition for our children so they can have the same kind of memories.