Ghosts of Christmases Past

We went to Midnight Mass, and in a real departure for our family we even opened our presents before Mass so that we (meaning mrangelmeg specifically) could all sleep in this morning.   Well then, what am I doing up at quarter past why the heck am I awake?  Maybe it is the fact that unlike the last four or five years, we actually have snow this Christmas (boy have we had snow).  Maybe it is because this is the first Christmas since our oldest daughter moved so far away and she couldn't get back this year.  Maybe because this is the first Christmas since my mom died and I am really missing her.  But I am sitting here on Christmas morning and remembering absent family members and Christmases past.

We opened presents on Christmas Eve most years when I was little, because we went to Midnight Mass and we could all (meaning my dad specifically) sleep in on Christmas morning).  We always got crisp new jammies on Christmas,  they were never wrapped, but would magically appear on our beds somehow while we were eating dinner on Christmas Eve.  The Jammies were supposed to help us sleep better on that magical night.

On the occasions that we didn't open gifts on Christmas Eve,  we would still have gone to Midnight Mass, so our parents had a rule about when we were allowed to wake them to open presents in the morning.  We had to wait patiently,  or as patiently as nine anxious children could, until the streetlight out in front of our house went out.  it was then and only then that we were allowed to knock on their door and tell them the exciting news that we had already discovered;  Santa had been to our house.  

I remember waiting anxiously, sitting on the radiator by the front window in the living room willing with all my might that the light would go out.  We carried this forward for our children by telling them that they weren't allowed to wake mrangelmeg on Christmas morning until the security light in our driveway went out.  

On the sleep in mornings we were allowed to wake up any time we liked, but we were not allowed to wake or disturb our parents on Christmas morning.  We had to play with our newly received loot as quietly as possible.  This was always much easier for me, who usually got books than my brothers who got GI Joes or Rock-em Sock-em Robots or Slot Hockey games.   Inevitably, they would get really noisy.  

The lasting memory I have of those Christmases though isn't the gifts, but having the family all together.    One year, we went into Midnight Mass with just a few flakes wafting through the air, and came out an hour and a half later to a total blanket of white, that by morning was one of the worst blizzards the area had ever seen.   The snow was so deep that hardly anyone drove on the streets for days.   We lived about seven weeks from Church and the entire family, all eleven of us walked through the two feet of snow to Mass the following Sunday.  

Christmas was a time to be together.   Another of our spectacular Christmases was the year my oldest brother came back from his Naval posting to Okinawa to spend Christmas with us.  We were so happy to see him, and he decided to "share the wealth" with his military pay that year.  The very large living room seemed to be buried in gifts.  But we were so happy to have Mike back that our bountiful harvest didn't seem to matter.

Our greatest gift on Christmas was family, which isn't a surprise at all to me since the real gift of Christmas was the Christ child.   For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son.  The greatest gift of all was a gift of Divine Family. It's not the Christmas presents that we love so much, it is the Christmas Presence.

I think I will call some of my siblings today. 

Pax

Tommy Blaze gives us the Reason . . .

Lights Please:

And Joseph went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,

to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.

While they were there, the time came for her to have her child,

and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling

clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock.

The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear.

The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news

of great joy that will be for all the people.

For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.

And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger."

and suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying

"Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."

When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us."

So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger.

When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child.

All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds.

And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.

Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had hear and seen,

just as it had been told to them.

Merry Christmas Everyone

Gentle Reminder

This has adult content, but thanks to Paul and Storm a funny look at the rush to begin the Christmas Season.

Remember kids, we don't decorate until the third Sunday of Advent, the Same Sunday that we begin the O Antiphons. Anticipation is everything.





Pax

You Can't Make This Stuff Up!

Virgin Mary and her husband a carpenter, gave birth to a son on Christmas and named him Jesus.

But this Virgin Mary gave birth this year in Peru.

The mother, Virgen Maria Huarcaya, delivered the 7.7 pound (3.5 kg) boy, Jesus Emanuel, in the early hours of Christmas at the central maternity hospital in Lima, the capital.

You can read the whole story here.

Hat tip to Ironic Catholic for the link.

A Child Shall Lead Them Off On A Tangent

Yesterday our Associate Pastor had a wonderful homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent that centered around Joseph's ambitions as a young man, and how they must have taken such a strange turn when Mary told him that she was "with child". Joseph probably wanted what all other men wanted, and yet his life took a turn that he could have never expected and he was led on a journey that he could have never anticipated when he took Mary as his betrothed.

He brought this sentiment forward to our time and said that perhaps a child would change our plans in ways we would never expect when we make them, but if we follow the new path interesting things might happen for us.

Just that morning we discovered that what we had hoped was a very bad cold that the angelbaby had been struggling with since the middle of last week was in fact strep throat, which has drastically changed our plans for the holidays because she can't be around anyone until we are sure she isn't contagious, so we had to split up for Mass on Sunday, and she and I had to stay home from the Mrangelmeg family Christmas dinner tonight.

She was really sad because this is one of the few times she gets to see her cousin (whom she has always called "tickle boy" with great affection since she could talk because he has chased her around and tickled her until she could barely breathe) and his wife. She even made him a gift in art class this year and won't get to see him open it.

She and I had a quiet dinner and then we were going to open our gifts from Grandma (mrangelmeg's mom,) but in my rush to get everything packed up for mrangelmeg to take to the party, I accidentally put her gift from Grandma in the bag with the other gifts (they had all been under our tree because I had wrapped them for mrangelmeg's mom.). So she even has to wait until they all get back from the party to open her present.

So she is off in the office surfing the net and I am back here writing this post. Everyone should be back in about two hours and then we are going to open our presents.

At least she is feeling well enough that she thinks the will be able to go to Mass in the morning. She is supposed to be altar Server. The Dr. said she had to be on antibiotics 24 hours to not be contagious and she will have been on them for about 36 by Mass time.

Hope everyone else is having a peaceful Christmas.

Pax

Merry Christmas

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.

Pax

Meme Christmas

I got this tag from Karen Hall at Some Have Hats. I'm hoping it will help me get in the spirit:

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? We have a long standing tradition in the angelmeg household, one night a few days before Christmas mrangelmeg and I stay up late to wrap the presents, I do most of the wrapping and he reads the paper and gives me supportive comments from the sidelines. Actually in the last few years he has been much more help with the actual wrapping than in the past, That change may have occurred right about the same time as the three gifts per child rule. We wrap most everything for the family, sometimes for friends I use gift bags,



2. Real tree or artificial? Mrangelmeg is allergic to pine tree sap (or so he tells us) so we have always had an artificial tree. We have a really nice one that looks very real and is massive, so I don't mind really. I do miss the smell of a real tree sometimes, and no matter what they try to tell you, those candles don't really smell like real trees.



3. When do you put up the tree? We used to put it up for St. Nicholas day (Dec 6) when the kids were younger because we didn't have a fireplace in the old house but that has been ten years ago. This house has two fireplaces, so we no longer need a place to leave shoes, so we try to stick to the third Sunday in Advent rule. Who am I kidding, the last few years I have been too darn tired to do any decorating until that late in the season, and have loved the fact that the church offers the decoration dispensation for me to hide behind.


4. When do you take the tree down? . I like to keep the tree up until Epiphany (Jan 6th ) sometimes it stays up a bit longer due to inertia. I will happily say it has never been up so long that we have had to change the ornaments for hearts though.

5. Do you like eggnog? I really do, but since I am the only person in my entire family that does, it doesn't make sense for me to make it or buy it at Christmas time if I am the only person who is going to drink it. If we are out somewhere and it is available I usually get some.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? One year I got the complete Treasury of Winnie the Pooh in one volume. It was the most awesome gift I had ever received and I think was the first hard cover book I ever owned. I read it from cover to cover before winter break was over. I still think A. A, Milne is an amazing storyteller, and can to this day pick up a copy (not the same one, sadly) and get lost in the hundred acre wood with Christopher Robin and his friends.

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes. A few, my most prized set is an Italian one that my Father-in-law and his wife bought for me one Christmas and a dear friend's husband built a wooden stable for. I love it so much that it stays on the mantle in my formal living room all years round.

8. Hardest person to buy for? Middle daughter invariably asks for something that is impossible to find without an Internet search. It is usually something I have never heard of and would never be exposed to if I didn't have the distinct pleasure of having this amazing child in my life. One year it was books by James Lileks. One year it was a DVD of The Tales of Hoffman. She might be the hardest person to buy for, but her gifts are the topic of discussion for weeks after Christmas every year.

9. Easiest person to buy for? Our son, he is happy with anything, he doesn't make demands, and this year he even offered to pay for some of his gifts (he is disabled and needed to spend down to stay within his Medicaid limit in his bank account). What mom wouldn't want a child like that.

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? When I was a senior in college my boss actually got me a package of underwear for Christmas. It wasn't sexy or anything it was big cotton granny panties. He said his wife picked them out, she told him that all college girls needed underwear. It was the most awkward I have ever been at a Christmas gathering in my life. Needless to say, the local homeless shelter was the recipient of a nice package of unopened women's underwear that year.

11. Mail or email Christmas cards?I used to mail Christmas cards to about 80 people, now I barely remember to email Christmas greetings to family. I did help my mother-in-law with her Christmas cards this year, does that count?

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? My cynical answer is Die Hard, but my actual answer is It's a Wonderful Life. but we do try to watch A Christmas Story at least once every Christmas. I even got mrangelmeg an ornament that looks like the leg lamp this year.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I am one of those annoying people who will be walking through a store in July and see something that would be a perfect gift for a friend for next Christmas and buy it right then and there. (She says ducking the rotten fruit cake). For the family though they have to have their gift list to me by St. Nicholas day because I like to be done shopping by the week before Christmas.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? There was this silly snowman stocking that we passed around to each other in college each year, but that was more recycled wrapping rather than presents because each year we put in a new present. Does that count?

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? It used to be the Knights of Columbus Strudel which is totally to die for, but since my allergies I can't even have a slice without feeling sick for the rest of the week, so I just look at it longingly now. I suppose my absolute favorite thing to eat is anything I don't have to cook or clean up after.

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? I used to be a stickler for only white lights on my tree. The last few years we have had colored lights and I don't mind them so much anymore.

17. Favorite Christmas song?Religious: O Holy Night. Preferably by a male voice

Secular: Santa Baby (stick a sable under the tree) because it was so not about presents

18. Travel for Christmas or stay home? the closer to home the better, travel makes me jittery

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? Yes. even the ones that didn't make it into the song,

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Always an Angel. Though the kids do have a Drunken Santa who swings a lantern for the downstairs tree (he isn't meant to be drunken but he doesn't stay upright and when he swings the lantern he looks tipsy).

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? This was a major compromise in our household when we first got married, in my childhood home we opened presents right after Christmas eve dinner so we had plenty of time to play with them before Midnight mass. Then we came home from Mass had a quick meal and went to bed and slept in on Christmas day. In mrangelmeg's childhood they opened presents on Christmas morning then went to mass came home and ate a big breakfast or whatever. We almost came to blows about when was the proper time to open gifts. Now we usually open gifts on Christmas Morning regardless of when we go to Mass. But, this year we are going to change that, because the kids are old enough to put their collective feet down and tell mrangelmeg that since we have to go to Christmas morning Mass (angelbaby is serving and I am Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion ) they want to open presents on Christmas eve so that they can sleep in an extra few minutes on Christmas Morning before they have to get up to get ready for Mass.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? This post should explain that.


23. What I love most about Christmas? The Incarnation. God loved us so much that he came to be with us in a way that made it possible for us to reach out and come into physical contact with the Cloud of Unknowing. But God came not in majesty but in very humble circumstances. It is this living mystery wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger that makes every other annoying hassle of this season worth the effort.

If anyone else wants to take this tag, feel free. Leave a comment and I will read your post.

What a Disappointment

Mrangelmeg got through his course in Law and Public Affairs. He said he waited all week for the discussion about Monica Lewinski, but dang-it-all it never came up. Boy was he disappointed.

We are getting our first real snowfall here, and we are actually getting ready to decorate the house for Christmas, this being the third weekend of Advent. Rose Sunday is tomorrow and our decoration dispensation is over so we have to actually begin to get in the spirit.

So we are vacuuming and moving furniture and musical instruments and trying to figure out where to put the tree. Somehow the room that a few years ago had absolutely no furniture and could hold the massive artificial tree we purchased is now chock-full of furniture and musical instruments. How on earth did that happen. Oh wait a minute I forgot the first rule of home ownership "your house abhors a vacuum; any empty space will quickly be swallowed up with stuff. (credit George Carlin for that one).

Anyway, the goal is to have enough space cleared out by tomorrow to actually have room for the tree.

Stop laughing, it could happen.

Pax

For Mrangelmeg

We missed A Charlie Brown Christmas last night (it seems way too early in the year to be playing it I mean couldn't they have at least waited until December for gosh sakes).

So, in honor of my devoted husband I have posted a clip here of the intersection of his favorite Comedy show Scrubs and those great Characters from Charlie Brown's Christmas.

Be warned, this is definitely rated PG 13 for language and content. But it is really creative.





h/t to my pal Paul via facebook