Julie Seedorf, Something about Nothing

It is Christmas Eve 2007. Christmas is a time for peace, a time for joy and a time for all mankind. Those words were from a song in a Sunday school program many years ago that I directed. I had children in that program. On this Christmas Eve I reflect on the journey of my experience of Christmas Eves of the past. I suspect many of you also reflect on the changing holiday in your life.

As a child I loved Christmas Eve. My parents would arrive home from their shoe store with a box of presents. Did I mention that I love presents? First we would sit down to Christmas Eve supper. It was called supper in those days. My mother would pass around a wafer that she had received from Poland, which was my grandparent&8217;s homeland. We would say a prayer as we passed the wafer. I do not think we had a special meal every Christmas Eve.

I don&8217;t remember the food, but I remember the wafer that made our supper special.

We always opened presents on Christmas Eve. Santa would come Christmas morning. I always wonder if my children remember any gifts they received that they felt were special. My special gifts over the years were a child&8217;s fluffy cancan that I received from an aunt and uncle in California. I still have a ceramic Santa that another aunt and uncle gave me when I was very young. He sits on my mantle every year. I also have a red glass necklace that a bachelor uncle gave me. The reason it is so special is that every year he gave my mom money to buy gifts. All of a sudden one year he bought this necklace himself. He died two months later. That gift was very special not because of it&8217;s monetary value because it is worth very little but it is one of the most precious stones I own. And then I have Jingle Bell Jack, which started my love of clowns. A friend of my parents gave him to me. I still have him today.

We ended the evening with Midnight Mass. Celebrating Jesus&8217; birth in the beauty of the church and the richness of the music and prayers gave me the gift of the true meaning of Christmas.

Santa always came Christmas morning and I would sneak down the stairs early in the morning to see what was under the tree. One gift was a toy miniature piano that my grandchildren still play with. Another gift was the repair of my first doll that I still have today.

The gifts I received had and still have meaning. Not because they are valuable to anyone else, but they are valuable to me because of the memories of the special people that gave them to me. When I look at them I remember the people in my life that made my life richer.

Christmas Eve changed as I had children. We followed the same traditions passing them on to my children. My mother brought her wafers to our house to share with her grandchildren. And we followed the same traditions with church. Christmas Eve was always lively and fun and special.

Our Christmas Eves have changed. This Christmas Eve my husband and I celebrate alone. Our Christmas dinner will be shared with other family. We must share our children with their spouse&8217;s families. We take turns with holidays. Sometimes my children create their own memories in their homes with their families. We also celebrate a granddaughter&8217;s birthday on Christmas Day. Hopefully instead of feeling sad that her birthday is on Christmas Day she willed feel blessed to share Jesus&8217; birthday. We have Christmas but sometimes we celebrate on a different day. So my husband and I will be making new traditions and memories on our journey through Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

At first I was sad that my family was not always here to celebrate the holiday. And then I realized that I had time to appreciate the night of Jesus&8217; birth. Christmas Eve became a time to let go of the frenzy and rest in the silence of the evening and the wonder of the tomorrows to come. Christmas Eve became a time to be thankful.

If you are alone this Christmas Eve, I wish you peace and love and joy. I wish you peace that comes in the silence of the evening to reflect on your blessings. If family surrounds you, I wish you the joy and laughter and hope that the memories that you are making are special. I wish you the peace of one night without disagreements and worries and strife.

Christmas is a time for peace, for joy and a time for all mankind. Wars do not stop, illness doesn&8217;t go away and the struggles of life continue on during the holidays but for this one night I wish you peace in your heart. Merry Christmas.

Wells resident Julie Seedorf&8217;s column appears every Monday.

E-mail her at somethingabout nothing@mchsi.com.