Being away from home during the holiday season is something that has taken me a long time to get used to. My whole family lives in Scotland, and I have not been home for the holidays since 2002. Fortunately, though, I have my Memphis family to help get me into the holiday spirit.
Every year, the dancers who stay in town get together for a big potluck Thanksgiving dinner. Kendall takes care of making the turkey and his famous mac and cheese. (He is quite a master chef.) Julie makes potatoes and a delicious pie.
We usually give the turkey a name; last year I think we called her Birdadette. I am completely useless at cooking, but I am a great assistant and highly skilled with a sponge and some soapy water. Thanksgiving is a fun American holiday, and I really enjoy it before we start our run of the Nutcracker.
For Christmas, I spend the day with Rachel and her family in Olive Branch, Miss. Rachel’s grandmother is from England, and she always makes sure to bake me traditional mince meat pies. She also insists that I use her telephone to make as many long distance phone calls to Scotland as I want. I am so fortunate to have such a kind and generous family to invite me to share their holiday with them. I love them dearly.
I fondly remember a few holiday traditions from my childhood in Scotland. My birthday is December 13, and that was the day my Mum would let me put up the Christmas tree. Christmas day was spent at home or with my uncle and his family.
Scottish people love New Year’s Eve. We call it Hogmanay, and it is really just another excuse for our families to get together and party again. On New Year’s Eve we would get up early and eat breakfast, then my grandmother would come over. She is quite superstitious and believed that the whole house had to be cleaned and organized from top to bottom. She would say, “Ye canny go in tae the New Year wae yir hoose lookin’ a mess!” (I dare you to try and decipher that, ha!)
So we would spend the day cleaning, and then around 4 or 5 p.m. we would take a bath and my mum would put us to bed for a nap. She would wake us up around 10 p.m., and we would get ready for the big dinner she had made while we were asleep. We would eat stew or a steak pie (definitely not Haggis!), and my grandfather would eat mushy peas drowned in vinegar, which always grossed me out.
When the New Year arrived or "The Bells," as we called it, we would wait for friends or family to come over, and we would play and party until the wee hours of the morning. I am so thankful that I still have these memories after so long.
I would like to wish you a very happy holiday season. I hope that it is filled with love and happiness. If all your family can't be together, then please be sure to tell them that you love them and that no matter how far away they might be, that you will always be together at heart.
Happy Holidays.
No comments:
Post a Comment