Holiday Traditions Continued From Page 15
foods: a beautiful display of fruits and vegetables, meats, sausages, cheeses, potatoes and lots of garlic, olive oil and plenty of wine with the meal, lasting all day into the evening. The evening ends with sweets—Panetone, a candied cake, Pondora (a golden bread) and my favorite, the Torrone nougats. Mangia Itialiano!
Unconventional
It had somehow maintained its shape and some of its orange color but had dried out as hard as a rock. We attached a ribbon, and it has hung on our Christmas tree for more than twenty years.
Lastly, one year, right before Christmas my wife Karen needed surgery to remove a benign cyst. The day after her surgery I went to the local craft store and bought a full-sized foam potato and a pair of gold angel’s wings.
Mementos —Shared by Mike Walker, RS
If something unusual happens to us around the holidays we try to commemorate it by creating a new Christmas ornament for our tree. It has resulted in some interesting ornaments over the years. For example, one year, early in our marriage, our car broke down in December and needed a new head gasket. The gasket kit contained a few extra gaskets and one of them resembled the rough outline of a bell. We jazzed it up with red glitter and hung it on our tree.
Our car broke down in December and needed a new head gasket. The gasket kit contained a few extra gaskets and one of them resembled the rough outline of a bell. We jazzed it up with red glitter and hung it on our tree.
Another year we were poor and really struggling financially. One day we discovered a big tangerine tree laden with ripe tangerines that were going to waste. The owner told us to take as much as we wanted. We picked two grocery bags full and were able to give them away as Christmas gifts to some of our friends. About a year later, just before Christmas, we found one of those tangerines that had somehow fallen down behind the drawers in our fridge.
16 Community Associations Journal | November–December 2021
I pinned the wings to the back potato, attached a red ribbon to the top to hang it on, and wrote “Merry Cystmas” across the front.
I pinned the wings to the potato’s back, attached a red ribbon to the top to hang it on, and wrote “Merry Cystmas” across the front. When I got to Karen’s hospital room and pulled the new ornament out of the bag, she
laughed so hard she almost split her stitches! Christmas Cards,
A Lifelong Tradition —Shared by Toni Hahn, CMCA, AMS
The thoughtful art of the Christmas card writing has held the bond of long-distance friendships and family good wishes over the years.
Taking the time over a couple of weeks to send a warm greeting to each of my loved ones brings me joy.
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