The Spirit of Christmas

I am so excited that I couldn't wait until morning to post this!! Brenda at Country Romance just gave me this award!! I love it. From the ho, ho, ho to the meaning behind it. Christmas has always been such a special time for me. My childhood Christmases were spent with my entire family. Christmas Eve meant no meat. So we dined (and still do) on the Feast of the Seven Fish. Now your version may include different varieties of fish. But ours includes: anchovies, shrimp, crab, tilapia, baccala, smelts and Italian tuna. That meal also includes pitalas (pea-ta-lahs) which are basically little loaves (shaped sorta like the palm of your hand) of fried dough. YUM YUM!! Let me tell you, there ain't nothing in the whole world like a fresh pitala straight out of the oil. We have cheeses and olives, celery and anise. Shrimp cocktail and anchovies. Then we have what my son calls "broccoli soup" which is basically a ton of fresh broccoli, cooked down to a soup with garlic and topped with Romano cheese. Then spaghetti with oil and breadcrumbs, the tilapia, smelts and baccala (cod.) After dinner, we have espresso, chocolates, torrone, assorted nuts and fresh fruit. Every year my sister cuts up the pomegranate and passes it to my brother and me. My sister-in-law jokes that she just likes to watch the 3 of us go crazy over it.

My father then reads Twas the Night Before Christmas to the grandkids (changing the words to hear them laugh.) He's pretty much known as Jolly old Saint Nickle Ass. And the kids howl! We open presents and then head off to midnight mass. Truly there is no more special day in church for me. Something about going to church at night and knowing that we are celebrating the birth of our Savior leaves me in complete awe. The stained glass windows take on a completely different look in that light. The nativity on the alter is absolutely breathtaking. My mom even made a ceramic nativity set based on the colors of the one at church. Come closer to Christmas I will be sure and post a picture.

I could go on and on about my memories and experiences surrounding the beauty of the reason for the season. But, I will get to the point! My job is to now pass this on to 5 people who represent the Spirit of Christmas to me. I picked 6 before I realized and then couldn't decide to who to take off of the list....

Polly at Counting Your Blessings
Gina, my niece at Mangia Mangia
Pat at Back Porch Musings
Robin at Bittersweet Punkin
Rosemary at Rose's Petite Maison
Melissa at The Inspired Room

Go to Santa's Mailbox to get your award!!