Monday, December 20, 2010

December in the Schildkret-Griffin Household

The Holiday season is always a little bit loco in my house.  My father was raised Jewish, my mother Presbyterian (Edit: I picked the wrong denomination.  She was Episcopalian.  Shows how much of an impact it's had I guess.), and we celebrate both Chanukah and Christmas.  When I was younger, this meant double the presents, which is really all you care about when you’re six.  Over the years, I’ve come to appreciate the rigamarole of the holidays as well as the presents part.  My sister and I still retain a certain sense of wonder around Christmas.  Miriam insists on going to sleep before the presents are set out so that when she wakes up on Christmas morning (still at an ungodly hour even though she’s 20 years old) the presents are all there, as if Santa Claus had brought them. Neither of us believe in Santa Claus any more, but we still enjoy the wonder and the sense of anticipation that we associated with the Holidays when we were younger. 

Christmas is also one of the busiest times of year for my family.  In a household full of artists, there are lots of demands on our time around the holidays.  Add to that the fact that my (Jewish) father also conducts the choir at a Methodist Church, and its a wonder we manage to fit in time for holiday baking, shopping, and light-viewing into our busy schedule. 

In an environment like that, a little confusion and a little craziness go hand-in-hand with the holiday season, but we do have our traditions, and we always make time for them.  Over the next few days, I’ll post a tradition a day.

1 comment:

  1. For the record, Mom was raised Episcopalian. You did hedge your bets by saying "more or less." I would say that's more less than more. :o)

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