I always think of past holidays this time of year. Remember mom always greeting her siblings loudly with “Chrismas eve gift”; but never knew the origin of this. Many years we spent Christmas eve at Grandma Wann’s house with Santa Claus almost always making it to our house before we got home later in the evening. We must have been on the earliest part of his route.
I recall riding around with Grandad McIntire looking for a prospective Christmas tree growing in a neighbor’s pasture fence. The small misshapen cedar trees looked nothing like traditional trees, but they were my favorite. And I looked forward to the gumdrop tree Grandmother decorated with colored gumdrops, to this day this was was the only time I ever ate them.
While most think of fireworks for New Year’s or July 4th, not so with my cousins and me. Fireworks became a Christmas tradition.
It’s been a very different holiday this year. First-year without mom and so much isolation from family and friends because of the pandemic. Looking forward to a healthier and happier new year.
