There’s a Christmas quote I like that goes, “In the eyes of children we find the joy of Christmas; in their hearts we find the meaning.” Holidays are fun and exciting and it’s a special time of year to share traditions and create lasting memories with our children and loved ones who live near or far.
I claim my two nephews,Thomas and William, as my “adopted” children. As the first grandchildren, they often visited Aiken during Christmas with my sister Nancy and her husband Jeff. Nothing brought me more joy than to have the kids for the holidays. When my two nieces were born a couple of years later, it became even more important to share our heritage with the next generation. Ferrara family traditions run deep and include well-established holiday trimmings such as homemade sticky rolls, roasted wild game dinners, Pepparkakor and Kolacky cookies, and traditional oyster stew on Christmas Eve. Aside from the average 5-pound weight gain, there are other traditions nearer to my heart than to my hips.
After Christmas church service, we drove the kids around Aiken to see the lights and sing carols, and the entire family came to my house for the Christmas Eve dinner. With the kids’ uncontainable excitement brought on by the holiday feast and sugar cookie overload, one tradition remained for the evening — calling Santa on his sleigh for an arrival time.
I cannot divulge how I got Santa’s cell phone number, but I quickly dialed the secret number and watched two little boys dance about with anticipation for St. Nick to answer. And he did.
“Santa, it’s Susie,” I quipped. “I have two little boys here who have been very good this year, and they want to review their lists with you. More importantly, we need to know when they need to put out cookies and go to bed.” Both wide-eyed boys read through their lists, hearing sleigh bells and an occasional “ho ho ho” booming from my cell phone.
“Mom, let’s go! Santa said he’s in Augusta!” shouted Thomas, the eldest, as he bolted toward the front door. As my brothers — Santa’s helpers —
emerged from the garage carrying sleigh bells to say their farewells, the children were already waiting in the family Suburban parked outside. Mission accomplished.
With the passing of my mother this year, Christmas traditions mean more now than ever. Mom was a phenomenal cook and a stickler for tradition. Fond memories of picking the perfect tree, which usually meant Dad had to saw off half of the tree trunk just to get into the house. Stringing the lights with the big bulbs — not the cheap, little ones. Christmas breakfast cooked painstakingly on low flame just to keep us kids in the agony of suspense. I can still hear the bacon crackling in the frying pan and the smell of fresh coffee perking in the gurgling coffee pot. And finally, the traditional photo of the family on the stairs prior to bursting into the living room and diving into gifts. Even family pets were brought into the picture to set the scene.
Family rituals and traditions establish the foundation for family values and provide families with a sense of identity and belonging. Holiday television shows, narrated by iconic Hollywood stars such as Burl Ives, Fred Astaire, and Jimmy Stewart, bring to life Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life. The season includes Christmas concerts featuring Handel’s Messiah, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, and We Wish You a Merry Christmas as well as The Nutcracker ballet, the Aiken Playhouse production of Scrooge, and the Aiken parade. It is a season of excitement, joy and splendor, a time when we adults can be kids again.
As the years pass, one constant remains the same for me during the holidays — family. Blessed to have loving parents whose values centered around their family, it’s now our turn. My siblings live in three states, but we make the time to come together and celebrate the season. So Santa, if you are reading this, my list is simple: please keep my family safe, our traditions going for generations to come, and a world where there is no island of misfit toys — there’s plenty of room in our hearts to love one another this special time of the year. Peace.
The History of Our Traditions
The Christmas Tree
The modern Christmas Tree originated with German Lutherans in the 17th century, and it spread to Pennsylvania in the 1820s when they immigrated to the United States.
Mistletoe
The Druids believed mistletoe fell from heaven and grew onto a tree. Mistletoe represented the joining of heaven and earth, and God’s reconciliation with mankind. A kiss under the mistletoe symbolizes acceptance and reconciliation.
Holly
Its sharp edges are symbolic of the crown of thorns worn by Jesus at his crucifixion; the red berries represent blood.
Santa Claus
As the Patron Saint of children and sailors, Saint Nicholas, a 4th century Bishop from Asia Minor, was famous for giving gifts to children. His feast day, December 6, became a children’s holiday in Holland, where he is known as Sint Nikolaas. English colonists called him “Santa Claus” because they couldn’t pronounce the Dutch name. Kriss Kringle, another name for Santa Claus, developed in Germany around the 16th century. German Protestants recognized December 25 as the birth of the Christ Child, Christkindl, which evolved into “Kriss Kringle.”
Candy Canes
Some scholars believe a confectioner developed this candy to represent Jesus. The shape of the “J” was for Jesus, or for his shepherd’s staff. White symbolizes purity and the red stripes indicate blood.
Peppermint
Peppermint is similar to hyssop, the Middle Eastern mint in the Bible.
Yule Log
The custom of the Yule Log was noted in France and Italy in the 1200s, and later spread through Europe. On Christmas Eve, an enormous log would be cut and placed in the hearth. Sprinkled with salt, oil, mulled wine, and prayers, it was said to protect the house from evil spirits.
Christmas Cards
London printers Charles Goodall & Sons became the first to mass produce Christmas cards. In 1862 they created cards with the words “A Merry Christmas.” They later designed cards with other themes, including Little Red Riding Hood, snow, red robins, and mangers.
The Nutcracker Doll
Nutcracker dolls originate from late 17th century Germany, particularly the Ore Mountains region. They were often given as gifts, and so they became associated with the Christmas season.
A native of Aiken, Susie Ferrara studied under the direction of Carl Crosby and is a former member of the Aiken Civic Ballet Company. She also danced with the University of South Carolina Dance Company, under the direction Susan Anderson, and the Robert Ivey Ballet Company in Charleston, SC. She has 30 years of experience in Communications and Journalism, and currently works in the Site Training Department at the Savannah River Site.
