Remember Grandma’s Traditions?
I love celebrating the new year. It’s a wonderful time to look forward and think about all of the possibilities.
It’s also a good time to look back – not just at ourselves, but at the people in our families who have come before us and who have impacted the people that we are today.
Pause a moment and look back.
I’ve been scrolling through pictures of our Christmas in Berlin, and this picture caught my attention:
It’s Martin’s hand reaching for a traditional holiday treat. I’m not sure what he’s reaching for:
my Grandma’s fruitcake that she made for all of us in Germany
or
vanilkove rohlicky, the Czech cookies his grandma used to make every Christmas (my mother-in-law translated the recipe for me to recreate)
I can’t believe the two ended up side by side on the same plate.
Do you remember holiday treats your grandma used to make? Do you remember traditions or stories from members of your family who lived long ago?
I find that the best way to keep from getting homesick for the United States and my family is to think of these stories and incorporate these experiences into our own lives.
When you find yourself overwhelmed, pausing to think of the challenges people in your family have conquered can really help. I wish we had a holiday where we did nothing but honor our ancestors. We could cook their favorite foods or do some things the way they did (assuming it’s practical, of course, because most of us cannot go to school on horseback).
But since there is not such a holiday, think of those people and the traditions they brought to your family as we ring in the new, beautiful year.
December 28th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
This is a wonderful idea….I think I’m going to make a try for it….pick out a date…and celebrate our family’s past! Thanks!!!
December 29th, 2009 at 12:52 am
My grandmother and my mother used to bake just the same cookies, they are called “Vanillehörnchen” here. They always were my favourite, and I bake it in large quantities. And now my younger son has started to bake them, too. They are baked all over southern Germany, and I would love to read your recipe to see whether there is a difference between the Czech and the Bavatien recipe!
December 30th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
My grandmother made simplified Bagna Calda for New Year’s Eve (we called it bunya cala for some reason). We dipped veggies and fresh bread in it. Sounds awful, the odor stayed around forever, but so, so, so good.
1 pound anchovies + 1 pound butter + several cloves of garlic + 1 electric skillet = heaven, serves a whole family
January 5th, 2010 at 9:19 am
I think other cultures have “Ancestors’ Days” sort of. Maybe we should start that tradition too. I like your ideas.
My family got together for Christmas and several of us brought cookies our grandmother and mother had always made, but a day devoted to remembering them and sharing their stories would be even better.