Traditions

Zoe has been wanting an Elf on the Shelf. I wanted to get her one last year, but they were sold out. This year, I didn’t see even one in any store. Luckily, one magically appeared in a white box next to a one-foot tall likeness of Santa Claus on Thursday evening. Zoe walked by it once and stopped to do a double-take of the white box that she hadn’t noticed there earlier. Inside the box was a beautiful girl Elf Scout with her own storybook. After drilling me, my husband, and her grandparents if any of us had gotten it for her – to which she received adamant “nos” – she was satisfied that Santa must have sent her and named her Rosanna.

Thursday also happened to be the day that our new Christmas tree came. Nik and Zoe had it set up before I got home that evening. I suspect that Rosanna had been there the whole time, just invisible and waiting for us to decorate before we were able to see her. This morning we found her petting a sheep from one of our manger scenes. I am excited to see where else Rosanna explores in our home and hope she stays a part of this newest tradition for us for many years.

One tradition I remember growing up was making Struffoli. For anyone who doesn’t know, Struffoli is a seasonal dessert that we only make between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. After all, if you made it all the time, it wouldn’t be special anymore. Struffoli are Italian honey cakes…kind of like small, dense donut holes smothered in honey and topped with sprinkles. My sisters and I would roll the dough into long, thin “snakes” before chopping them in pieces. Then my mom would fry them in oil on the stove.

Once they were cooked, she would scoop them out into a paper grocery bag. My sisters and I would take turns shaking the bag to remove excess grease off of the dough balls. Kind of like the opposite of “Shake N Bake.” I would always steal a couple of plain ones before she covered them in honey. I’m not sure why, but I was never a huge fan of honey, so I wouldn’t eat much. This is odd to me because I have a huge sweet tooth. Oddly enough, Nik and Zoe aren’t honey fans, either, so I have only made Struffoli once or twice as an adult. Nonetheless, I still love the memories, which always flood back when I see a batch.

My favorite tradition has to be playing cards. Many members of my extended family usually had to work on Christmas Day, so we (aunts, uncles, and cousins) would all get together at my grandparents’ house the Sunday before Christmas to celebrate. After presents and dinner (usually lasagna and a few bites of everything else on the table), several members of my family would play card games.

Sometimes there were 8 or 12 of us playing, so we used multiple decks. We mostly played Crazy 8s. It was simple enough that the youngest of us could play along without any help. As we got older, the card games got more intricate (like Samba). I have since taught my daughter all the card games I know. Luckily for me, card games aren’t limited to Christmastime.

Another Christmas tradition I remember is sending letters to Santa Claus…but unlike other families, we burned our letters. My mom told us the smoke went directly to Santa at the North Pole. It seemed weird to me that other people actually mailed their letters with stamps and everything. It somehow seemed a little less magical that the USPS actually brought Santa his mail. Apparently, no one else I know uses the smoke method. Zoe has watched enough Christmas shows to notice that the primary method of getting mail to Santa was via the US Postal Service. Unless you want to sit on his lap and tell him directly. Since she wanted to write a letter to Santa, we sent it the traditional route.

It’s funny to think how much Christmas traditions can change even within a generation. Maybe I’ll whip up a small batch of Struffoli anyway just so I don’t forget how to make it. I wonder if Rosanna likes honey.