Christmas Tradition

At Christmas time people have a tendency to think a lot about people they have lost.  I know it's a time of Joy and Peace and all that but everyone misses someone.  When it's buying the gifts or wrapping the presents or putting up your tree.

Myself and my mom had a couple of Christmas traditions.  One being from as long as I can remember, on Christmas Eve, mom would open up a bottle of wine and we would sit by the fire and eat chocolates and she would let me have a little glass too.

And I am talking very young.  Now I was only allowed a tiny little glass but now that I think about it, this was probably to knock me off to sleep.

Anyway, one year we were sitting there in front of the fire and mom was drinking a bottle of Blue Nun (lol) gross, and I had my little glass, I think it might have been a sherry glass, I still have them.

So there we are watching some crap, she sitting beside the fire eating a box of Roses, now I should tell you that my mom had two false teeth, they were lost as a kid, right in the front, and she was always cleaning them, so when she opens the purple wrapper and low and behold throws her false teeth in the fire instead of the wrapper.

She jumps up and starts screaming at the fire trying to poker them out.  Then she looks at me crying 'oh sweet Jesus'  she puts her hand in the fire and pulls out her teeth, she drops them on the carpet and we are standing there looking at them.

The best was when they cooled down and she tried to put them in but they were all twisted up...I fell around the place laughing, she then bet me around the place with her slipper...good times...lol

Now my mom is very fond of her appearance, she is traumatised.  You cant imagine what this did to her.  It was the quietest Christmas she ever had..We went to our Aunts on Christmas night and she wouldn't even open her mouth.

Later on in life we started exchanging Christmas bawbells to each other.  In our family its become quite the tradition.  I have one bawbell on my tree now that her mother had on her tree when my mom was born in 1950, and a bawbell that was on the tree when I was born in 77, and a mix of wonderful bawbells from my partner and sister and aunts.

I think Christmas traditions, however small make Christmas what it is supposed to be about.  Love, Family and Memories.. It's the only time of year when all families get to see each other..from all over, you meet with cousins, friends, aunts, uncles that you might only see that one time a year.

Every Christmas we put up our tree and with each bawbell we put on we have a story..This one is from so and so, this one is from me to you, this one is your moms, some of them might be old and raggedy but it makes for a totally one of a kind tree.....It's totally my favourite Christmas tradition.