Celebrating Friendships

 

Today was my second Christmas party of the 2021 season.  Time is going way too quickly for me, but then it always does. This is my Craft Nite group. We have been meeting once a month since at least 1977. None of us can remember exactly when we began, but I know it was when my daughter Bridget was still a baby.(Sidenote: It's funny how we tell time, isn't it? Not so much by the date, but by what was happening. And by the ages of our children. So much of my timekeeping in the past several years has been by "befores" and "afters". But that's another story.) 

Craft Nite began with four of us. We were all young mothers who liked to create, but felt that we hardly had time alone to make and do. At first we all worked on individual projects, but later we would make the same thing. We've never had a shortage of ideas. We had some pretty elaborate crafts for many years. There is a lot of talent evident in this group of ladies. We have met monthly for many years now, and our numbers have expanded and contracted. We have lost one dear friend during this time, and others have moved away. We've had very elaborate dinners and sometimes two desserts.We used to stay up half the night, and once we even stayed until we heard the birds singing. Now we meet during the day, and seldom make anything. And if we do, it's very simple. It isn't really about the crafting.

We have been together through many joys, and just as many sorrows. We have been able to confide in one another, and laugh and cry together. We do have some unwritten rules. There are opinions about the world situations that we will never all agree upon, and things we know will never change, so those are subjects we ignore. There are many, many other things that keep us bonded.

We met today at a restaurant. Weeks ago we drew names for our annual secret gift exchange. We also bring small tokens for one another. What a patchwork of presents we had today!

There were ornaments, purchased and handmade, candy, pumpkin bread, panettone, potpourri, gift cards for coffee, chocolate, and the newest calendar from Cindee Moyer, who is an extraordinary doll artist. Last year she had my name, and I was lucky enough to receive her original Sally Hemings. 

I made a small fabric bunting for each of the ladies with three fabric pennants. The middle one has a Christmas tree brooch. I have a large one in my front room as an Advent calendar. Yesterday when I was finishing them, I feared I would have to take the large one apart and borrow a few of the triangles. But I found what I needed at the last moment. Which is of course, part of the lesson I am always learning............Remember to Plan Ahead!

A Visit from Saint Nicholas

 Happy Saint Nicholas Day! This is the feast day of Saint Nicholas of Myra. He was an actual bishop in the fourth century. Stories of his generosity and devotion to the poor were the inspiration for our modern Santa Claus. He was known as the patron saint of travelers, the clergy, and school children. He devoted his life to serving those in need. Some stories say he often sold his possessions and gave the money to the poor. The story most often told is that he left gifts for three girls whose father could not afford to pay their dowries. Legend says he would leave gifts for children in their shoes.

In many countries, it became the custom to leave shoes outside the door on December 5, and to discover a gift the next morning. Typical gifts were often small toys, candies, and oranges to represent gold.

We are all a mixture of many customs and traditions. There is no better time than the holidays to choose and adapt these different traditions to our own families. I had never heard of this tradition when I was growing up, but I liked it so much that we began celebrating Saint Nicholas Day when the children were very young. We would all leave our shoes outside the bedroom doors on the night of December fifth. Often straw and carrots would be left for Saint Nicholas's horse. He would take those treats and leave chocolate gold coins, other candies, and a new Christmas ornament in each of the shoes.

On the next day, we would draw names for our own  "Kris Kringle". This was the parent, brother or sister that each one would be personally responsible for during the holiday season. This meant buying a present, and also doing secret good deeds for that person. Some years it worked out better than others. On Christmas Eve, we opened our Kris Kringle gifts.

               

I still have the tin and little cards that we used every year. As the kids grew up and left home, they continued the tradition with their own families. They were able to start trimming their trees with the ornaments they had received. Of course, our own trees became a little barer every year!