NaBloPoMo: What is your favorite holiday memory?

 

I have two favorite holiday memories but they both occurred during Christmas.

My first favorite holiday memory is when I use to have both of my grandmother's for Christmas. My paternal grandmother passed away my junior year of high school but prior to her death, I have lots of memories with her especially during Christmas since it was her favorite holiday! She was very traditional in celebrating Christmas especially when it came to COOKING! My grandmother, affectionately known as Ca-Ca (pronounced Kek-Kek) or Ms. Cassie to others, made amazing homemade dishes. She enjoyed singing Christmas songs, telling the story of Christ's birth, brewing up hot cups of coco, decorating the tree and sitting by the fire eating roasted peanuts while admiring the tree.

If only I paid more attention, I wish I could have adsorbed some of her famous recipes such as her chocolate cake, SWEET POTATO PIE, and sweet rolls! Not to mention she was also a skillful seamstress so she always use to sew me blankets, twirly skirts (I liked to dress up and dance around) or clothes for my dolls! She truly was the backbone of our family and now that I'm older, I recognize some of my favorite things (food and fashion) were learned from her! She even bought me my first sewing machine as a Christmas/birthday gift. She tried to give me lessons on how to sewing when I would see her but didn't master the skill :(. I guess that's why the holiday's are bittersweet for my family and I because they haven't been quite the same without her. However, I thank God everyday that I have one living grandparent left! I don't take her for granted at all and I try to make the most out of every visit and holiday spent with her because that's all I have left.

The other holiday memory of Christmas I have is when I was little for a few years my family and I didn't celebrate the holidays at home. I mean we weren't living like gypsies or anything but they enjoyed being on the road more when I was a kid. In particular, some of my first Thanksgiving/Christmas memories were spent in the Big Apple. To this day, I have a strong connection to New York for that reason because I have so many awesome memories as a kid. We would wake up early to catch the parade then we would head over to Woodies (now Macy's) to have breakfast with Santa! It was so awesome because I remember one time I had this pretty crushed velvet purple dress that I wore with white tights and black patent leather flats and I ran around on that plush red carpet inside Woodies.

I'm so thankful and grateful that I have these memories to cherish (and I have pics too)! Someday when I become a mother, I want my kids to experience this type of childhood memory(ies).

Photo Courtesy of Flickr.com/By Guowen Wang