I asked my father and sisters what we did for Christmas Eve when we were young but, oddly enough, none of us remembered the same things.
While my family can’t really agree how we spent Christmas Eve when we were young, I remember that we did have a few Christmas Eve rituals.
- We almost always spent the day at home.
- There were preparations for Santa’s arrival. A plate of cookies and a glass of milk, and even sometimes a few carrots for the reindeer.
- There were preparations for Christmas Day. My mother would start Christmas dinner, at least whatever she could do in advance . Christmas dinner was either ham or turkey (my preference was turkey).
- If snow fell on Christmas Eve, we would shovel the walk, brush the snow off the car, and sweep off the porches.
- And, when we were old enough to attend Midnight Mass, we would get dressed in our best clothes and head off to church.
Written for the Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories – Day 24.
Copyright © 2007 by Stephen J. Danko
Steve,
I’m very moved by your advent calendar memories. Being a firm believer in recording our *own* events, thoughts, and feelings for a hopefully-interested future generation, I salute your thoughtful messages.