Hope you had a Merry Christmas.
Notice the dichotomy in the title and first sentence? I believe strongly that one should celebrate the holidays as one knows best. Political correctness aside, I will say Happy Holidays but personally I mean Merry Christmas simply because I'm not Jewish, don't celebrate Kwanzaa at home, and I certainly don't ring in the holidays like most Asian countries. Still it is the holiday season, and as such we tend toward those sayings that come most familiar.
My mother was Japanese. It didn't mean that we spent the holidays "cleaning the old year away to start fresh in the new year." This is a very Japanese custom. My mother was in her own way stuck between 2 cultures and she didn't care. She wanted her family to be very American in appearance as this was her adopted nation. She still bought omochi (a sticky rice-cake) and prepared a few other Japanese delicacies around the holiday season, because, as I mention above, it was what she knew best. But she baked Christmas cookies, particularly those from Switzerland ( Mailänderli , a kind of shortbread cookie) as that is where my father grew up, and did the tree and the presents for us kids. It was the person that she was.
My children will grow up cross-cultural if I can help it, but they won't know it until they are older. I still have many things that I do, that are based on my parents and growing up. I take off my shoes upon entering a house. Not because they are dirty, but it was the way I was raised. I must admit it does keep the carpet cleaner. My oldest son is consistantly told to remove his shoes after coming home from daycare. He does it without much thought anymore, but we still remind him. He refers to my father as Ojii-chan (Japanese for Grandfather) as this is how we referred to my parents (my mother was Obaa-chan, or Grandmother). This was more for differentiation than anything else. When you have 3 sets of grandparents (my wife's parents are divorced), you have to distinguish them when your children are at a young age so that they don't get too confused. My mother started the Obaa-chan custom, my wife's mother was Grandma, and her step-mother is Nana. It integrated pretty well with my oldest and he knows who we are talking about when we refer to them as such. He changes them around, but he knows better now. My youngest is starting to get to know the names now...
This is the first major holiday season without my mother. I'd like to say that I weathered it well, but I'd be lying. There were some things that just couldn't be avoided. My brother baked the Christmas cookies this year. Next year will be my turn. He managed to acquire the cookie presses that my mother bought long ago to do the Mailänderli. I'll get them from him next year. We have an Angel, Santa, a Christmas tree, and a snowman. My mother would make the dough, press out the cookies and take a straw and make a hole near the top. She would then frost the cookies in good colors, cover them in plastic wrap making sure that there was a ribbon in the top hole, and distribute the edible ornaments to friends and family. It wasn't the same... I think that next year I'll be crying into the dough and frosting, but I expect that...
My mother was an artist at heart, and I think that this is where I get my mad skillz [grin]. My brother complained that it took so much time and effort to get them done. I suppose he may be right, but he also does other things at Christmas, such as home-made English toffee. I did 3 dozen Mailänderli last year and frosted them in about 4 hours, assembly-line fashion. While my back and neck were a little sore, I felt a deep satisfaction at the looks and compliments that I got for doing it. A tribute to my mother I guess. Next year, I'm going to outdo myself with the coloring, and I think that she'll be proud. Her cookie presses are a good deal bigger than mine. I'd better start in October...
In closing, parents, don't be too worried that your kids are being commercialized by the holidays. Unless they grow up in a remote corner of the world with no access to modern conveniences it's bound to happen. And if you think that they get too many gifts, blame family. You have no control over that. Just make sure that they appreciate what they do get, and what they have. That's the most important thing in this case. As for how to celebrate the holidays... take a tip from my mother: The best way that you want and know how to...
Just a little tidbit o'ken...
Notice the dichotomy in the title and first sentence? I believe strongly that one should celebrate the holidays as one knows best. Political correctness aside, I will say Happy Holidays but personally I mean Merry Christmas simply because I'm not Jewish, don't celebrate Kwanzaa at home, and I certainly don't ring in the holidays like most Asian countries. Still it is the holiday season, and as such we tend toward those sayings that come most familiar.
My mother was Japanese. It didn't mean that we spent the holidays "cleaning the old year away to start fresh in the new year." This is a very Japanese custom. My mother was in her own way stuck between 2 cultures and she didn't care. She wanted her family to be very American in appearance as this was her adopted nation. She still bought omochi (a sticky rice-cake) and prepared a few other Japanese delicacies around the holiday season, because, as I mention above, it was what she knew best. But she baked Christmas cookies, particularly those from Switzerland ( Mailänderli , a kind of shortbread cookie) as that is where my father grew up, and did the tree and the presents for us kids. It was the person that she was.
My children will grow up cross-cultural if I can help it, but they won't know it until they are older. I still have many things that I do, that are based on my parents and growing up. I take off my shoes upon entering a house. Not because they are dirty, but it was the way I was raised. I must admit it does keep the carpet cleaner. My oldest son is consistantly told to remove his shoes after coming home from daycare. He does it without much thought anymore, but we still remind him. He refers to my father as Ojii-chan (Japanese for Grandfather) as this is how we referred to my parents (my mother was Obaa-chan, or Grandmother). This was more for differentiation than anything else. When you have 3 sets of grandparents (my wife's parents are divorced), you have to distinguish them when your children are at a young age so that they don't get too confused. My mother started the Obaa-chan custom, my wife's mother was Grandma, and her step-mother is Nana. It integrated pretty well with my oldest and he knows who we are talking about when we refer to them as such. He changes them around, but he knows better now. My youngest is starting to get to know the names now...
This is the first major holiday season without my mother. I'd like to say that I weathered it well, but I'd be lying. There were some things that just couldn't be avoided. My brother baked the Christmas cookies this year. Next year will be my turn. He managed to acquire the cookie presses that my mother bought long ago to do the Mailänderli. I'll get them from him next year. We have an Angel, Santa, a Christmas tree, and a snowman. My mother would make the dough, press out the cookies and take a straw and make a hole near the top. She would then frost the cookies in good colors, cover them in plastic wrap making sure that there was a ribbon in the top hole, and distribute the edible ornaments to friends and family. It wasn't the same... I think that next year I'll be crying into the dough and frosting, but I expect that...
My mother was an artist at heart, and I think that this is where I get my mad skillz [grin]. My brother complained that it took so much time and effort to get them done. I suppose he may be right, but he also does other things at Christmas, such as home-made English toffee. I did 3 dozen Mailänderli last year and frosted them in about 4 hours, assembly-line fashion. While my back and neck were a little sore, I felt a deep satisfaction at the looks and compliments that I got for doing it. A tribute to my mother I guess. Next year, I'm going to outdo myself with the coloring, and I think that she'll be proud. Her cookie presses are a good deal bigger than mine. I'd better start in October...
In closing, parents, don't be too worried that your kids are being commercialized by the holidays. Unless they grow up in a remote corner of the world with no access to modern conveniences it's bound to happen. And if you think that they get too many gifts, blame family. You have no control over that. Just make sure that they appreciate what they do get, and what they have. That's the most important thing in this case. As for how to celebrate the holidays... take a tip from my mother: The best way that you want and know how to...
Just a little tidbit o'ken...
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