pyroguysr's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Merry Christmas 06 Yeah, I know... my last post was not all that upbeat. I think the reason for it is that, as I grow older, I become more and more of an empath and I feel the frustration, sadness and grouchiness of all the multitudes around me being amplified and it seeps into my very soul. Tonight I am quite happy and content. Last year at this time in Raleigh, I was tooling around my neighborhood, looking for the Presbyterian Church and hoping that they were having a midnight service because I felt the need... *sighs* Sorta odd that a "quasi-wiccan/pagan" would be looking to attend services at a "puritan" church - those that burned witches "back in the day." This is the time of the year when the family patriarchs and matriarchs (on my Dad's side of the family, at least) would get together to pass on "traditions" to the future generations. There would be a week of going from house to house for food, drink and merriment. And OH, the food! Kolachky's, poppyseed and nutrolls, hand-made Polish sausage, ham with horseradish sauce, olives, cookies, cakes, pies and all kinds of sugary drinks for us kids (MY favorite beign "Dad's Root Beer"... anyone besides me remember that brand or was it only in the Chicago area?) and "Polish Pop" for the adults (i.e. booze... generally 7&7's, JD, screwdrivers and a couple others). It was a time when the folks would sit around, my Dad playing the squeezebox, my Aunt Lorraine or Uncle Leo playing the organ or piano and everyone singing Christmas songs - some in Polish, some in English. On my Dad's side of the family, they were all first-generation Americans, all of them spoke Polish before learning English at the hands of the Nuns at St Adalbert's in Whiting. They would all talk in Polish so that us kids couldn't listen in on "adult" conversation. They later regretted not teaching us all Polish as well, but... On Christmas Eve, we would sit around at home, us kids gazing expectantly at das Tannenbaum and wondering what it would look like the next morning once Santa arrived. We liked the gaudy, tinsel-covered trees festooned with hundreds of colored lights. We'd watch Bing Crosby, then Andy Williams. Then we'd have the traditional "Old Country" Christmas Eve dinner. It was a humble dinner, but one which I liked. It was meager, to remind us of our roots and heritage as the family came from a long line of serfs in Poland. There was a watery mushroom soup into which you put boiled potatoes. There were fish sticks, a link of the family sausage, sauerkraut, mashed taters and a vegetable. We also broke bread in the form of an "oplatki" or wafer - similar to the communion wafer that Catholics used. We'd break bread with each other, putting the pieces in the soup and then eating it. Then would be the fish and the meal - no dessert. Then we couldn't eat anything afterwards. Part of this was the fact that, at the time, you had to "fast" for at least an hour before going to church. As I got older, Dad would take me into Whiting to St. Adalbert's for the Midnight Mass which was a "high" mass and sung, the sermon read and otherwise done in Polish. My Uncle Leo sang in the choir there so it was a treat to go, even though the small sanctuary was generally bursting at the seams. I liked the grandeur and the ritual and the strange words coming from everyone's mouth. But all these people grew up as neighbors and they all knew one another. On the way out, I'd get lots of solemn handshakes from men I didn't know and kisses from overly-rouged lips from ladies I didn't know. Sometimes they would sneak me some candy, but Dad would admonish me that we couldn't eat anything until the following morning. I honestly don't remember many of the Christmas Mornings from my youth. I had LOTS of memories of other times, like vacations and such, but remember very little of Christmas until I was about 8 or so. Maybe it was because I was so hopped up on sugar that I couldn't remember much. The only true "young" memory I have was receiving a tricycle and riding it up and down the hardwood floors of our house upon awakening at 6 am (now I go to sleep around then! LOL) We got lots of candy in our Christmas stockings, along with unshelled nuts and small toys. Dad says that an old English couple, the Baron's, used to buy us lots of toys. My Dad worked with Mr. Baron and they were a childless couple while my dad was struggling to raise 3 kids (how he did it on what he made, along with taking us kids on vacation every year, paying for a mortgage, etc, I'll never EVER know!) It was a grand, happy time, though and I'm blessed to have two rich cultures in my background; Irish and Polish. May you all have wonderful holidays! Wesolych Swiat i Szczesliwego Nowego Roku (Polish) Nollaig faoi shean agus faoi shonas duit agus bliain nua faoi mhaise dhuit! (Irish Gaelic) Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year (English) 7:31 p.m. - 2006-12-24 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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