The Fine Art of Holiday Memories
Quick – what one holiday tradition from your childhood did you love best? Opening gifts? Family game time? Snitching the cookies while they were still warm?
For me, it was the advent candles Mom let my brothers and me burn during the 12 nights before Christmas. She read an article in Good Housekeeping magazine with ideas to keep children’s anticipation and curiosity about all those presents under the tree focused and in control, and one of the suggestions was the advent candle. Mom would cut 11 notches into three identical taper candles and my two brothers and I would burn one notch each night, burning the candle to the very end on Christmas Eve. Somewhere between bath time and bedtime, we’d gather at the coffee table in the living room, Christmas music playing, a tray of Mom’s cookies and candies in front of us, and watch the flame on our candles dance, melting the red wax into star-shaped pools in the bottom of three glass candle holders.
OK, I know this...
