Thanksgiving has come and gone and now our thoughts tum to Christmas which is just around the corner. It's time to dig through the Christmas decorations and time to shop for the perfect tree to decorate. Many of the ornaments probably bring back memories of other Christmas times and special family members who perhaps made homemade ornaments.

One of my favorite memories is of the Christmas when I was just a little girl who longed for that special day to come. Actually, it was my mother who had a difficult time waiting until Christmas morning. Somehow, she always managed to need something from the neighborhood store late on December 24th. Off we would go to run the errand only to come home and find that Santa Claus had come while we were gone. On one very special Christmas, we received a whole group of chairs with seats covered with raw hide. Since I was the youngest at that time, I received a little rocking chair just my size. The rockers are long gone, but I still have the little chair. Mother's chair was also a rocker, but all the other chairs were just the thing for our dining room table.

What fun we all had as we made long, long strings of popcorn to use as garlands on our tree. We probably ate as much popcorn as we could before stringing what was left over for the decorations. There was no rural electrification at that time. To add color to the tree, garlands were also made from red and green construction paper circles all glued together to adorn the tree.

Choosing a tree today is very different now from what it was back then. Today we go to our favorite vendor who has a whole area filled with trees of all sizes that are shipped in from northern states. We were blessed with cedar trees that grew naturally on the hillsides in central Texas. Daddy generally chose the tree for no doubt he had been keeping his eye on the most beautiful ones as he rode daily over the fields and forests to check on the cattle. When the day came to cut the tree, Daddy proudly brought his prize back to our house for us to decorate.

I suppose that most families have traditions. Today our Christmas tradition is to watch Charles Dickens Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve. Before bedtime each person is allowed to choose one gift to open... but only one. Everyone has to wait for morning to come before we can open the other gifts. And even then, we take turns opening only one gift at a time.

And of course, we all remember and recite ‘Christmas is coming and the geese are getting fat. Please do put a penny in an old man's hat. If not a penny, a half penny will do. If not a half penny, God bless you.'

Not only do families have traditions, but different countries have traditions. Some countries wait until January to give gifts celebrating and remembering how the wise men brought gifts to the Baby Jesus. They say that in Holland the gifts are left in the wooden shoes that the children leave out to be filled. Mexico is very well known for their Christmas parades and posadas where persons representing Mary and Joseph followed by all the neighborhood go from door to door asking for lodging where Christ would soon be born. Time after time lodging is refused until finally at a predetermined home the crowd is admitted and the party begins. Hot chocolate, bunuelos or tamales are generally served.

If your church or neighborhood sponsors a posada, be sure to go. Or better yet if you have a chance to attend a posada in Mexico be sure to go. To make the celebration more authentic, Mary will probably be riding on a donkey. Merry Christmas!