Merry Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve to you and yours...

I am not sure why, but Christmas Eve always seems more precious to me in memories than actual Christmas.  Perhaps it was the anticipation...decorating the tree, wrapping presents, waiting for the visit from St. Nic.  The candies and nuts...the scent of tangerines in the air.  There was baking to be done.  So giddy waiting to hear the sleigh on the roof.  Of course, there was the standard admonishes to get thee to bed else Santa might pass you by.  

As you age, some of the magic o f the holiday is lost, and it's harder to find the spirit and meaning of 'Peace on Earth Goodwill toward man', when you see shoppers having a slugfest over a pair of tennis shoes.

I recall one Christmas when the whole family gathered for Christmas at my grandfathers.  All the grand-kids where there.  It snowed so heavy!  We have over a foot of snow and the electric went out for days.  We heated the house with fireplaces.  My grandmother was always one to cling to old ways, so she had a wood burning stove she refused to get rid of.  Of course, that suddenly was in demand again to feed a household.  She never said a word, but "see, I told you' was in her flashing hazel eyes.  I can recall them cooking eggs and biscuits on the stove, the smell of mince and pumpkin pies baking in the old oven.   To keep the kids warm at night, they dragged the mattress downstairs and arranged us around the huge fireplace in the living room.  

The tree was in the parlor, and we were just bedding down, when we heard a commotion on the front porch.  One of my uncles dressed in a St. Nic robe!!  

The family rarely gathers like that now, too scattered and lives of their own.  What times we have gotten together lacks that child's magic.

Still, Christmas Eve is a special time.  So this night I am watching old Christmas movies, and trying to touch magic again...even if that magic is a wee bit tarnished...lol.

Wishing you each a wee dram of that special magic from the bottom of my heart....