Christmas is how you feel in your heart.

  I grew up a part of the large extended family. My dad comes from a family of  7 and my mom a family of over 10 people. Holidays were celebrated in a big way. We had big dinners and long days of eating, drinking & lots of merriment. Christmas was always the most special of the holidays. My mama was the Queen of all things Christmas. She loved every part of it. Her preparations would start right after Thanksgiving. My parents hosted Christmas Eve for my mom's side of the family. Every year she would prepare a feast for a king! There were beef or pork roasts, pastas, side dishes, sometimes we had duck. sometimes we had turkey too. Homemade breads, cakes and cookies would be prepared for weeks. My brother & I loved being her taste testers. She performed magic with her decorations and preparation of all the glorious savory foods and sweets. We had music from the record player, 8 track or cassette depending on what year it was. My aunts, uncles and cousin would pile into their cars and drive our house with presents in tow. Somehow there was always a friend or two invited to our Christmas Eve parties. The more the merrier was my parents theme! The adults drank mixed cocktails, wine and beer and us kids had all the pop we wanted to drink that evening. We ate, danced, laughed and at midnight we would wish each other Merry Christmas with many kisses and hugs. Then it was present time! For us it was the best day of the year. Christmas Day was always celebrated with my dad's side of the family. It went pretty much the same as Christmas Eve except the celebration started earlier in the day. My grandparents hosted Christmas Day until my grandpa passed away in 1969. Then my aunts & uncles took turns to host. We ate lots of food some of it Polish since my grandparents were Polish immigrants. Ate delicious desserts along with more merriment. One of my favorite parts of Christmas Day was when my dad & his brothers & my older cousins would play poker. If I close my eyes, I can picture each of them playing and trying to bluff when they had a good hand. We opened presents that day too. Their was an abundance of love & laughter those 2 days. 

Growing up family was the most important part of  our lives.  My parents taught us that from the very beginning. We stuck together through the good times and bad. We had each other's backs. We didn't always agree upon everything but, we learned compromise & when to agree to disagree. Some members of our extended family were closer to other. But on Christmas we were all one. I loved every minute of it. 

Now most of those beautiful people are gone. My Mama was the hardest loss for me. Her last Christmas was 2017. That year she was too sick to prepare much. But my immediate family was together. As we've been each year since. Our family is a lot smaller that it was when I was younger. But I hold precious memories of those Christmases long ago. I'm grateful for every year we had together. And I look forward to the years to come. To me, Christmas is how you feel in your heart. I feel loved and that's the best thing about any day, especially Christmas.