Traditions

This will be our 21st Christmas in the States.  We love the fact that Christmas finally "matches" the English-oriented picture of Christmas we grew up with - snow, red berry-laden bushes, a fire in the fireplace.  Not that it ever seemed odd to me growing up to be singing about "the bleak midwinter" or opening cards with pictures of a snow-covered fields while the weather outside was in the 80s and we were packing to head to the beach.  It's just what we were used to.

We've had some wonderful Christmas adventures here.  Holidays spent with Mark's family in Seattle were very special, including my first snow angel and coffee drink. We've spent Christmas camping in Death Valley, where Santa came around in a dune buggy and campers decorated the vast real estate of their RV's dashboards with winter scenes.  We also enjoyed a snowy Christmas at the Grand Canyon and a lovely meal at the lodge where they had real mince pie that came in slices rather than tartlets.  

In the past few years, we've either not had the money or the vacation time to go away so we've stayed close to home and spent the time with our American family - different sets of people who open up their homes and welcome us as family into their traditions and share such wonderful food and fun with us.  

Over the years, we've come to develop our own traditions.  We realized this year that David Sedaris' "Santaland Diaries" debuted on NPR in 1992, our first Christmas here.  What a fun tradition to share.  Other traditions are born of our special circumstances.  Since we have to get most of our gifts off to NZ in November in time for St Nicolas' Day, we have often wandered down to the mall to watch the panic of last-minute Christmas Eve shopping.  It's very amusing.  Does this make us bad people to take such delight in others' distress?  

Five years ago, in an attempt to recreate the magic of the midnight church service, we started hosting a midnight run on the Mall.  The limestone monuments at night are glorious, all lit up and shining.  I always stay behind and guard the gear, taking the time to visit with Abraham, re-reading the text of his inspirational speeches.  It's a fun time with friends and we particularly enjoy the hot chocolate and treats we share afterwards to see in Christmas Day.

Also five years ago, being unemployed and poor, my friend Taneen and I started a tradition that saw its fifth edition last night - an urban hike around DC on Festivus (Dec 23).  Keeping it inexpensive, we fill our bike bottles with wine and our backpack with treats and visit one of the national Christmas Trees, then simply hike all around DC - usually a different neighborhood every year - just talking and laughing and airing grievances from the past year (a Festivus tradition).  In years past, we've posted our grievances to a Festivus Pole in Adams Morgan, but since that was shut down, we just write them down and burn them.  There's something very cathartic to the evening.

Mark and I usually get a Christmas tree - we enjoy being able to carry it home from the lot around the corner.  This year though, with Thanksgiving being so late and bleeding in to Mark's birthday and then all the end of year Christmas parties, we simply left it too late.  So we decorated what we had and I think may have started a new tradition.  Christmas Sticks!

This year our lives are immensely improved by the addition of three very active and cute (now) cats.  They've already pulled the ribbon off the windows, threatened to knock the gifts off the table, occupied numerous bags and boxes, and dragged random pieces of tissue paper back to their lairs.  

All in all, we have had some great Christmases and are looking forward to another tomorrow.  Of course, there are no presents under the sticks for us from each other.  But our bikes are doing well this year - Mark's Gypsy Rose is getting her very own Edge and AYUN III (my ghost bike) is getting a very pretty pair of carbon pedals.

See you in the new year!