With Christmas just a couple of weeks away, the sound of the season can be heard playing in stores and on the radio. It’s the time of year for church Christmas programs, along with choir, band and orchestra concerts. I had the chance to attend my granddaughter Ava’s Christmas program in Alden the other night and was totally impressed. They put on a great Christmas program, and everyone participated.
When I was a kid, each year I looked forward to the school Christmas program, even though I played no instrument and would never impress anyone with my singing prowess or my flutophone playing. It is really all about celebrating the birth of Christ and spending time with family. I don’t think that I as a person realized how important this was to me until I spent time in the service away from home on Christmas. While in Japan, we would stand in line on Christmas day to use the phone to make a 5-minute call home where family gathered around, waiting their turn to talk. A long wait in line to have a short conversation with family back home was a pretty big deal. The only time we were allowed to call home was Christmas or family emergency, but I am not whining or complaining because that is how it was back then; we just dealt with it. Yes, it was totally different back then, no Facetime, cell phones or email, just regular mail. I considered myself lucky that year because many of my fellow servicemen didn’t even have the luxury of a phone call.
When we were deployed to Vietnam, we got an extra $65 a month and when we mailed a letter, we just wrote FREE where the stamp was supposed to go and it went through. A good friend of mine showed me that his mother thought it worked both ways, so she did the same and they sent it through. He never told her any different.
I can remember going to my Aunt Ruby and Uncle Harvey’s on Christmas day when they would call my cousin Tom who was in California. We would all gather around the phone hoping to say a few words and just hear his voice for a moment or two. Calling “long distance” all the way to California in those days was a huge deal and if someone called “collect” it was pretty darned spendy, but Christmastime was no time to skimp.
Getting back to the present; it’s almost time to boil the fish and melt the butter that is the key to any good lutefisk eater’s dining experience. My dad always said you are a true Norske when you roll up your sleeves, roll the fish in a lefse and pour on enough butter, so that it runs down your arm. I learned to cheat just a little, so that’s why I always eat my fish on lefse with some potatoes mixed in and topped with a lot of butter, salt and pepper. I don’t believe that you would find this fine dining experience listed on the Blue Zone to-do list or on Mayo’s list of healthy eating habits. It is only once (or maybe twice) a year, so I guess that, like any other Christmas, I will be throwing caution to the wind and enjoying it once again. My mouth is starting to water in anticipation of that delicious Norwegian delicacy that I know will be awaiting me on Christmas Eve.
Although we have had a few snow-free Christmases in my lifetime, I just have a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit without just a little snow covering the ground. Christmas vacation as a kid always seemed to be about sledding, snow forts and snowball fights. I can’t remember too many winters where there was a lack of snow, but I know there were some. I guess that I like to push the not-so-pleasant memories to the back of my mind and dwell on the good, so that might be why I remember the “good old days” as being so darned good.
Until next time: If you get a chance to donate some money to a food shelf or buy a gift of toys or winter clothing, I can guarantee that it will give you a warm feeling to know that you are making someone’s Christmas a little better.
Please show your support for the troops that are serving our country today. These servicemen and women are making that sacrifice, so that we may have the many freedoms that we enjoy today.