Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is quite possibly my favorite night of the year--my mother's family gathers together for Christmas carols and gifts and sweets. It contains the best possible mix of family and traditions and new things.

This year there were lots of changes--my uncle made the ice cream instead of my grandfather, but he used my grandfather's recipe, so it was okay. My father also read the Christmas story instead of my grandfather, but my grandfather read a reflection on family, so it was okay. After my grandfather read his reflection on family, the children clapped; they clapped in just the same way that we (the adults) clapped for them after their performances on the flute and piano. When my grandfather reads and prays, it is wonderful--it is one of the few times we hear his voice because he is soft-spoken to begin with, but he also is now very hard of hearing and so rarely enters into conversation.

After the children performed on the flute and piano, one of the youngest, Peter, seemed as if he also wanted to perform. So they set him up at the keyboard bench, made the keyboard play an automatic song (Deck the Halls, I think), and then cheered him on, till he was convinced that he was playing the song himself.

During the Christmas story, the children act it out. This year, baby Jesus was a little girl, since that was the youngest family member. Since she is very clingy, Jesus was a crying baby girl. Not only that, but there was a crying shepherd, since her brother isn't much older than she is. Sarah also amused us all by trying to eat the wrapping paper on her presents (she's teething). When Grandma opened her presents, the kids gathered around and egged Grandma on until she tore the wrapping paper (Grandma is well known for her frugality, which extends to her carefully opening presents, and folding up the wrapping paper to re-use next year).

Some things remained the same as other years: there were, as always, Grandma's cornflake cookies, which are dyed green and made into little wreaths of holly with red cinnamon candies as the berries. I always get to eat as many as I like, since no one likes them, but I think I was competing with Ethan this year. And there were the candlelight Christmas carols, as always. I'm slightly scared of fire, so a dozen little children with candles in the living room is disconcerting.

And one anecdote from Christmas: I offered to make the gravy this year. This was a long process, since it turned out to be me, my grandmother and my mother making the gravy together (youth isn't trusted too much in our family). At one point my mother said, "I've never been good at making gravy." My grandmother added: "I never have been either." I, of course finished: "I am very good at making gravy!" Really, who cares if it's lumpy or not? I just add straight flower to the meat drippings. But, with the efforts of all three of us, we had the most smooth, lump-less gravy ever.