tradition

Now more than any other time of year I find myself (like so many others, no doubt) reflecting on traditions.  Which ones to keep, which to leave behind.  Which to take on, which to try to breathe more life into in hopes that they will one day stand firmly on their own without much effort on my part.

It's easy to want to do it all.  To infuse this time of year with meaningful family traditions and experiences that will help become a sort of backbone for future celebrations.  Things we will hold onto and lean on and count as our own when life feels challenging and we're looking for a little extra happy and oomph in our days to get by.

Of course, we don't really need all that.  As long as we've got love and our people and more often than not generally good moods, then we'll more likely than not be just fine.

But.

But why not add some more beauty to our journey, right?

For me, the appeal of traditions is strong and I happily answer it's call by diving right in.  I try to acknowledge my limits and those of the ones around me, but certainly I have fun testing the waters.

These days with everything and everyone else's experiences and merry making at our fingertips via the internet, it is hard not to try it all out.  All the recipes, all the fun ways to count down the season of advent, all of the ways to bless the season with gratitude and love and kindness and mindfulness.  The many different ways that other cultures celebrate this time of year.  All of the beautiful ways to decorate, even.  Your home.  Your table.  Your gifts.  Yourself.

And so, thinking a little about what I chose to say yes to this year and what I chose to say no to, here are a few of the things that have become "keepers" around here.  Some old, some new, some recently rekindled traditions.  Only time will tell which will come to stand their own ground as solid parts of our story.  I trust that if they don't, then they weren't meant to.  And that the time and space freed up in their absence will be filled with something better and more meaningful.  Or maybe it will be filled with sweet delicious nothingness, an excuse to just linger and slow down in an already too busy season, surrounded by our people.  And love.  And hopefully joy and peace and good food.


*Thanksgiving morning pumpkin pancake feast with friends (made easy(ish) by all the extra pureed pumpkin left over from pie making the night before)

*The Nutcracker with my little lady (who now, whenever she hears any classical music (and sometimes Otis Redding, which I can't explain...) will say "that's ballerina music!")

*a special candle designated for burning on Winter Solstice, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

*a fire (usually outdoors, but this year indoors because of the rain), setting intentions for the year ahead and (doing my best at) letting go of the things I'd like to leave behind, and treats left out as gifts for the wild animals, all to mark the Winter Solstice and the slow return of light~

*a brew of orange peels, apple slices, cloves and cinnamon sticks stewing away on the stovetop for several days before and after Christmas, making my home smell like it always did when I was a kid

*homemade cream of mushroom soup & pierogis for Christmas Eve dinner

*a Christmas Eve reading of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas by Nana, live and in person for papa all throughout his childhood and via Skype these last couple years.  The awkward pauses and lags of Skype, at other times slightly frustrating, somehow only serve to make this holiday tradition more enjoyable and memorable. (and humorous)

*making an ornament from a little "tree cookie" cut from our Christmas tree

*cinnamon rolls (I love, love the recipe from The Bread Baker's Apprentice) for breakfast on Christmas morning~ best shared with loved ones, of course

*peppermint bark & sugar cookies, to round out the mix of holiday sweets

Our Sugar Cookies:

(adapted from something pulled out of a magazine)

3 cups unbleached flour

1 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

1 1/4 c granulated sugar

3/4 c light brown sugar

1 T finely grated orange zest 

1 T fresh squeezed orange juice

(use an organic orange to avoid all the nasty on the skin)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2 large eggs

*sanding sugar, cinnamon-sugar and/or sprinkles for decorating)

preheat oven to 350

mix dry ingredients, set aside

mix sugars, orange zest & butter in mixer on medium speed for about 1 minute

add eggs, then orange juice

reduce speed and gradually mix in flour mixture

now you can either scoop the dough into little (semi-flattened) balls onto your parchment/Silpat lined baking sheets, or you can roll them out.  I was all for rolling some out because part of baking Christmas cookies for me is cutting out shapes with my mom's old cookie cutters.  BUT, be careful NOT to roll the dough too thin.  (unless you like very crispy cookies)  We found 1/4 inch or slightly thicker to be the sweet spot for the rolled ones.  The little round balls stay a bit softer and chewier a bit longer, so we made quite a few like that as well.

bake until golden- the original recipe said 15 minutes, but we found 9 minutes to be perfect 

you know what to do next, I'm sure~  I prefer mine on a tray next to homemade hot cocoa in old santa mugs, with said tray placed on our coffee table and me and my loves sitting on the adjacent couch snacking away and watching old Christmas classics on the television.  

Or, apparently, anywhere and anytime, because they sure don't last long around here! 

*traditional southern New Year's Day good luck meal featuring collard greens, cornbread, black eyed peas and rice and in our house, a cherry pie made with cherries picked about 6 months prior from the tree on Nana and Pipop's front lawn. mmmmm mmmm good!

If you wouldn't mind, please do share some of your "keepers"!