A Christmas Letter To All My Relatives and Friends
Christmas Friendship and Greetings 2005
Chas here- I won the toss and took the first leg of this greeting:
Then ………..
When I was a kid, probably age 10 or so, at Christmas time the men in each family spent a good part of the holidays visiting, conversing, recounting the events of the past year, and passing on the gossip that was current and the scandal that was old. Most of the families in our neighborhood were of Italian background. Everyone knew each and every person of each family and especially the stories of success or failure that went with each family. There was no need for genealogies then because memories were long, and nothing that happened went un-noticed. There were always a few women who kept track of every scandal, every wedding, every extended “vacation” spent out of town, etc. It was a tight group whose family values became the dominant focal point of the Holiday. Hearts were light for the season, at least..
On Christmas morning I remember so well the visits that were made by my father, usually in the company of some of his brothers, to the homes of his brothers and sister - unannounced, and also to the homes of many of his friends. This was tradition and it was not unusual for a small group of 2 or 3 people in his group to pick up a few more from the homes that that they visited. Eventually, the group would grow, but who cared. Family was everything. The visit was expected, it was tradition. Not to visit would have been an insult. Even though I was very young I was allowed to tag along because of my fondness for the holidays and being with the family.
At each home that was visited the host and hostess would be bursting with pride to be selected for this honored visit. The home-made liqueurs would be brought out and the little tiny glasses that were kept for “best” would be set out for the visitors. There were always the bowls of nuts, both shelled and unshelled, and candy, cookies, special holiday pastries and special fruit such as pomegranates which I liked because the seeds looked like jewels. There was one very special candy called “Torrone”, made in Perugia, Italy and imported for the holiday. It was made of nougat and had an edible paper wrapper. For many of us kids of that era, it represented Christmas as much as a Christmas tree. Usually the women of the house were busy beyond any measure of effort, and they would all be in their holiday finest, but protected by their home-made holiday aprons which were extremely colorful. The smells from the kitchen were surpassed only by the overflowing love of the people who were sharing their pride and family. Holiday music, usually with an Italian flavor, would add to the pleasure.
“Then” was about 62 years ago and in those years the neighbors saw each other at least weekly and would exchange their stories about current affairs. At Christmas time the holiday conversation was a time for jokes, merriment, progress of the children and then, always, respect was paid to relatives who had passed away in the previous year.
Now ………..
As much as we would like to visit with friends and family, Holiday season preparations and social commitments limit our visitation time, and we must resort to Christmas Letters.
This past year, 2005, found Nelda and me wanting to challenge the passage of time. We realized that we had not done as much of the traveling that we had long hoped for. Would we be able to meet the challenge to our bodies that travel requires? These questions swirled through our minds. We had returned, only weeks before, from Thanksgiving Week 2004 in Cancun with all of Nelda’s family. Were we ready for more travel?
In March of 2005 we flew to Holland for a Riverboat tour. Neither of us had ever been to Holland or Belgium, however the lure of the spring tulips was so great that we couldn’t pass it up. We visited the Kieukenhoff Gardens and Charlie was able to fulfill his desires to photograph with his digital camera to his heart’s delight. The Gardens were magnificent and in prime condition. We also visited a chocolate factory, as well as enjoying an afternoon of light lunch and local color while being entertained by a local family. We were impressed by the architecture, the real cobblestone streets and sidewalks, and especially the opulence of many of the public buildings which displayed gold leafed statuary. The country suffered extensive damage during WW II, but it was not evident.
Last summer we had many visitors including Nelda’s daughter Mary and her two children; Nelda’s sister Linda and her husband Nick, and our dear friend Pam Woods. Nelda was able to visit many art and antique shows with Pam. Nelda’s son, Reg with his wife Julie and their two children came from Oregon to visit. Chas on the other hand was happy to be diving a couple of times, or more, a week, as well as playing golf with his brother Arthur about once a week. In the Fall we were visited by our good friends Tom and Claire Edwards from Marble Falls, TX. In the Fall, Nelda and Charlie were able to get away to the Mt. Washington Hotel in New Hampshire for a few days of relaxation and viewing the Fall Foliage.
In September, Nelda and her two daughters Mary and Suzanne had a wonderful time in London and Paris taking in all of the museums, historical locations and theater as two weeks would allow – all without the distraction of husbands and children. It was a great ”female-bonding” time!
We got back to TX in late October, and on November 28th Chas had surgery to replace his right hip. He is still recovering, so not very available to help with the Christmas decorations. He should be good as new in a few weeks.
That’s all the news, without too many of the details. We look forward to visiting with all of you and fill you in on everything that we either glossed over, or forgot.
Chas has a blogspot which can be accessed at http://chasnar.blogspot.com/ for current events in our lives.
We wish everyone the very best of health and good fortune for the coming year and all the years to come.
Lots of Love to all,
Chas and Nelda
Chas here- I won the toss and took the first leg of this greeting:
Then ………..
When I was a kid, probably age 10 or so, at Christmas time the men in each family spent a good part of the holidays visiting, conversing, recounting the events of the past year, and passing on the gossip that was current and the scandal that was old. Most of the families in our neighborhood were of Italian background. Everyone knew each and every person of each family and especially the stories of success or failure that went with each family. There was no need for genealogies then because memories were long, and nothing that happened went un-noticed. There were always a few women who kept track of every scandal, every wedding, every extended “vacation” spent out of town, etc. It was a tight group whose family values became the dominant focal point of the Holiday. Hearts were light for the season, at least..
On Christmas morning I remember so well the visits that were made by my father, usually in the company of some of his brothers, to the homes of his brothers and sister - unannounced, and also to the homes of many of his friends. This was tradition and it was not unusual for a small group of 2 or 3 people in his group to pick up a few more from the homes that that they visited. Eventually, the group would grow, but who cared. Family was everything. The visit was expected, it was tradition. Not to visit would have been an insult. Even though I was very young I was allowed to tag along because of my fondness for the holidays and being with the family.
At each home that was visited the host and hostess would be bursting with pride to be selected for this honored visit. The home-made liqueurs would be brought out and the little tiny glasses that were kept for “best” would be set out for the visitors. There were always the bowls of nuts, both shelled and unshelled, and candy, cookies, special holiday pastries and special fruit such as pomegranates which I liked because the seeds looked like jewels. There was one very special candy called “Torrone”, made in Perugia, Italy and imported for the holiday. It was made of nougat and had an edible paper wrapper. For many of us kids of that era, it represented Christmas as much as a Christmas tree. Usually the women of the house were busy beyond any measure of effort, and they would all be in their holiday finest, but protected by their home-made holiday aprons which were extremely colorful. The smells from the kitchen were surpassed only by the overflowing love of the people who were sharing their pride and family. Holiday music, usually with an Italian flavor, would add to the pleasure.
“Then” was about 62 years ago and in those years the neighbors saw each other at least weekly and would exchange their stories about current affairs. At Christmas time the holiday conversation was a time for jokes, merriment, progress of the children and then, always, respect was paid to relatives who had passed away in the previous year.
Now ………..
As much as we would like to visit with friends and family, Holiday season preparations and social commitments limit our visitation time, and we must resort to Christmas Letters.
This past year, 2005, found Nelda and me wanting to challenge the passage of time. We realized that we had not done as much of the traveling that we had long hoped for. Would we be able to meet the challenge to our bodies that travel requires? These questions swirled through our minds. We had returned, only weeks before, from Thanksgiving Week 2004 in Cancun with all of Nelda’s family. Were we ready for more travel?
In March of 2005 we flew to Holland for a Riverboat tour. Neither of us had ever been to Holland or Belgium, however the lure of the spring tulips was so great that we couldn’t pass it up. We visited the Kieukenhoff Gardens and Charlie was able to fulfill his desires to photograph with his digital camera to his heart’s delight. The Gardens were magnificent and in prime condition. We also visited a chocolate factory, as well as enjoying an afternoon of light lunch and local color while being entertained by a local family. We were impressed by the architecture, the real cobblestone streets and sidewalks, and especially the opulence of many of the public buildings which displayed gold leafed statuary. The country suffered extensive damage during WW II, but it was not evident.
Last summer we had many visitors including Nelda’s daughter Mary and her two children; Nelda’s sister Linda and her husband Nick, and our dear friend Pam Woods. Nelda was able to visit many art and antique shows with Pam. Nelda’s son, Reg with his wife Julie and their two children came from Oregon to visit. Chas on the other hand was happy to be diving a couple of times, or more, a week, as well as playing golf with his brother Arthur about once a week. In the Fall we were visited by our good friends Tom and Claire Edwards from Marble Falls, TX. In the Fall, Nelda and Charlie were able to get away to the Mt. Washington Hotel in New Hampshire for a few days of relaxation and viewing the Fall Foliage.
In September, Nelda and her two daughters Mary and Suzanne had a wonderful time in London and Paris taking in all of the museums, historical locations and theater as two weeks would allow – all without the distraction of husbands and children. It was a great ”female-bonding” time!
We got back to TX in late October, and on November 28th Chas had surgery to replace his right hip. He is still recovering, so not very available to help with the Christmas decorations. He should be good as new in a few weeks.
That’s all the news, without too many of the details. We look forward to visiting with all of you and fill you in on everything that we either glossed over, or forgot.
Chas has a blogspot which can be accessed at http://chasnar.blogspot.com/ for current events in our lives.
We wish everyone the very best of health and good fortune for the coming year and all the years to come.
Lots of Love to all,
Chas and Nelda
posted by Chas Nardone at Wednesday, December 21, 2005
1 comments
