Christmas Love

Becci Irving

 

Through the years, and all the times

I've spent Christmas time alone,

I never knew how much I missed,

Til you came to share my home.

 

The magic of the season seems,

To grow with each new year,

The love, and warmth you've brought to me

Makes perfection seem so near.

 

You bring a smile to my face

Each time we start the day,

You seem to beam each time I turn

And steal a glance your way.

 

With all my love, I give to you

Peace, and love to last through time.

And every year I thank the day

You decided to become mine.

---

Mexican Christmas

Joaquim Gabriel Andrade

My family and I celebrate Christmas the Mexican way because we are all from Mexico. We begin to celebrate on the 24th because that is Christmas Eve. We start opening presents at midnight or the 25th in the morning.

We always have a party every Sunday before Christmas. It is called a “posada.” It’s a party where you celebrate the arrival of Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem. You have a ”piñata” which has candy and prizes in it. We also celebrate with fireworks.

On the 24th we celebrate Christmas Eve with the whole family gathered together: parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. We have turkey with cranberry-chili sauce, mashed potatoes, buttered veggies, turkey soup, and cod with chili gravy. Afterwards we have punch with marshmallows. At twelve midnight we open our presents and after that we all go to our own houses.

On Christmas morning my brothers wake me up to open our Santa’s presents. Then I always go to my other grandparent's homes to spend Christmas. We eat a good meal. We break another piñata and then we exchange presents.

The familiar Bible story about the birth of Christ, is related every year during the Christmas season in churches and homes. In Mexico each December the story of the birth of Jesus actually comes to life once again, as Joseph and Mary´s search for shelter long ago is reenacted for nine consecutive nights in the festive ritual of Las Posadas ("Posada" means inn or lodge in Spanish). The idea of commemorating the Holy Family's journey to Bethlehem can be traced back to St. Ignatius Loyola, in the 16th century. He suggested Christmas novena, or special prayers to be said on nine successive days. In 1580 St. John of the Cross made a religious pageant out of the proceedings, and seven years later the nine-day remembrance was introduced to the natives in Mexico by Spanish missionaries. At first the pageants were solemn and deeply religious, but the observances soon became imbued with a spirit of fun and eventually, the celebrations took place in people's homes where the entire community joined in.

The posada begins with a procession that sets off as soon as it gets dark. Usually a child dressed as an angel heads the procession; he is followed by two more children carrying figures of Mary and Joseph on a small litter adorned with twigs of pine. Garlands of colorful flowers are everywhere. Groups of boys and girls follow the lead figures, then come the grown-ups, and last of all, the musicians. When the procession reaches the house chosen for that evening, it divides into two groups, one representing the holy pilgrims, the other the innkeepers. The pilgrims line up behind the angel and the children bearing the figures of the Holy Family, then they file through the house until they arrive at a closed door, behind which the innkeepers have stationed themselves. The pilgrims knock on the door and call out in song, asking for shelter. A chorus of voices on the other side asks: "Who knocks at my door so late in the night?"

The pilgrims respond, "In the name of Heaven I beg you for lodging - my beloved wife can no longer travel, and she is weary."

But the response is an unfriendly refusal. "This is no inn. Go Away!"

After repeated requests for shelter, the pilgrims explain who they are, and that Mary will soon give birth to a baby. The innkeepers relent and welcome the exhausted travelers: "Enter, holy pilgrims. Come into our humble dwelling and into our hearts. The night is one of joy, for here beneath our roof we shelter the Mother of God."

Everyone enters the room and kneels in prayer, after which the party moves out to the patio for fireworks and fun. Baskets of holiday sweets, called colaciones, have been prepared along with other food and drink. In large cities, so many posadas are held that active partygoers can manage to attend four or five in one evening.

For eight nights similar ceremonies are repeated. But on the ninth evening, Christmas Eve, a particularly impressive posada takes place, during which an image of the Christ Child is carried in by two people who have been selected as the godparents. With great reverence, the image is laid in a tiny crib in the nacimiento. Sometimes a Christmas Eve posada will have live people representing the Holy Family, with Mary riding a donkey, and the procession concluding at a manger scene set up in a field. The people in the procession carry faroles, transparent paper lanterns containing lighted candles attached to long poles.

Although a truly Mexican Christmas observance, the posadas have wandered north into the United States. San Diego, California presents posadas at the Mission of San Luis Rey, in the Old Town section, and in the Padua Hills where performances have been given for many years. La Sociedad Folklórica continues the tradition in Santa Fe, and Mexican-Americans in San Antonio, Texas have their processions along the city's famed Riverwalk.

Source: Christmas.com

Caramel Shortbread

Base

9 oz (225 g) All-purpose flour

2 oz (50 g) caster sugar

6 oz (150 g) margarine

Pinch of salt

Topping

½ tin of sweetened condensed milk

1 Tbsp golden syrup

4 oz (100g) margarine

2 oz (50 g) sugar

4 oz (100 g) plain cooking chocolate

Preheat oven to 350° F (160° C) Gas 2

Sieve flour and salt into a bowl; chop margarine, add to flour and rub in (use a pastry cutter if you have one). Add sugar and knead until the mixture forms a soft dough. Press into a baking tin. Prick the bottom with a fork and bake in the middle of the oven for 40 minutes or until light golden brown.

In a saucepan with a thick base, bring milk, sugar, margarine and syrup to a slow boil, stirring constantly. Boil gently for 5 minutes - continue stirring. Pour syrup mixture over the baked shortbread and allow to cool.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler and pour over the shortbread as the final topping. (Add a little water to the chocolate if it is too thick, heat through before using. Allow the chocolate to cool and set before slicing into bars.

Note: Freezes well.