Monday, December 03, 2007

Christmas Traditions




I had a sudden memory jolt today - of a childhood Christmas tradition. My daughter was peeling a Clementine orange and the smell gave me a "memory rush" straight from the 1970's. I told Laura that the smell of oranges reminded me of Christmas. She was, understandably, puzzled. I told her that when I was a kid, our Christmas stocking always contained an orange, some nuts, a candy cane, and some chocolate. So the strong smell of oranges this time of year reminds me of childhood Christmases. Laura asked why we had oranges in our stockings. I confided in her that, as a child, I never could understand it either! But as I got older I realized that to my folks, who were children in the 1930's, oranges and candy were LUXURIES that they only received at Christmas-time. So to my mom, an orange in our stocking was an amazing gift. Never mind that in 1972 you could buy bags of oranges in the supermarket!

This was one of those rare "memory dumps" that I treasure. My hope is that, through scrapbooking and storytelling, I can "dump" my memories to my children. One day maybe Laura will tell HER daughter "mom's orange stocking" story.

In that vein, here is a photo of me, age 3 years or so, sitting on Santa's lap. I am wearing my much loved velvet coat and hat.
May you make a memory with your child today!
Love,
G.

1 comment:

  1. What a gorgeous layout and awesome story!! smiles...

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