Christmas Traditions

Traditions have always held special meaning to me. As a child they offered me a sense of normalcy and as an adult they helped me remember the magic that is Christmas. My parents divorced when I was 2, which meant for me I spent Christmas with one parent one year and the other parent the next year. I was very lucky that both my mom and step mom made sure I had the same traditions in each household. The things we did were not anything too difficult but I always looked forward to them. I am now sharing those things with my boys and remembering all the excitement of Christmas all over again.

We start with the sugar cookies the Saturday before Christmas. We deliver them to friends, family and of course leave some for the big man himself. We also leave out some carrot sticks for the reindeer. The next morning the boys will see the bites taken out of the treats and their stockings full of goodies.

In each stocking a few things will always be there. In the toe a large orange is added. This is a very old family tradition that many families do every year. The stories about the orange and the Christmas stocking are traced back to quite a few different origins but I always liked the story that talks about a very rich man who liked to help the poor in what is now known as Turkey. His name was Nicholas and he later became a bishop in the church.

Bishop Nicholas learned of a poor man with three daughters who had no dowries. And, without dowries, they could not marry. Bishop Nicholas took it upon himself to take three bags of gold coins and toss them down the poor man's chimney.....which somehow happened to land in the daughter's stocking that were hanging up to dry in front of the fireplace. The bags of gold turned into balls of gold which now symbolize the oranges. Bishop Nicholas is often shown in pictures wearing a red ceremonial robe and miter, while holding the staff of a bishop as well as holding three gold balls, gold coins, or pieces of fruit. He was later canonized and made a saint. Thus we know him as Saint Nicholas.

Next in our stocking we have a small box of our favorite cereal. It is the one that when shopping with Mom we begged for and were told how it was full of nothing but junk so she would not spend money on it. For me it was Apple Jacks. Christmas was the one time of the year I got Apple Jacks and I looked forward to it every year.

Finally we would have a very large Hershey chocolate bar. Last year I thought this would be a big hit with my boys but they only cared about the cereal. The candy bar lasted until December 27th in our house, but as a child, it was the first thing I took a bite of. Candy for breakfast was such a strange thing, it enhanced the magic and the special feeling for the day.


Both my moms also made a large breakfast. We would have our cereal, chocolate and orange for snacks to last us to the 2 pm lunch/diner we would have at our grandparents home. Pancakes, bacon, eggs, hashbrowns could all be found at the breakfast table. One thing my biological mom would always make the night before was cinnamon rolls. Like the other things mentioned, this would only happen one time a year, making it so special. I don't have her recipe to share but I make a pretty good one every year for my family. Please enjoy for a special holiday (or a Sunday). I hope you find the magic in this holiday and create some traditions to enhance the magic for your little ones and young at heart.

Clone of a Cinnabon

Rated: Submitted By: Marsha Fernandez Photo By: abrooks Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 15 Minutes Ready In: 3 Hours Servings: 12

"Save yourself a lot of money by making your own homemade cinnamon rolls! The dough is made in the bread machine and everything else is done by hand."

Ingredients:

1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C) 2 eggs, room temperature 1/3 cup margarine, melted 4 1/2 cups bread flour 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup white sugar 2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast 1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon 1/3 cup butter, softened 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1/4 cup butter, softened 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1.	Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.
2.	After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
3.	Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
4.	Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.