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Across the Fence:  Farmgirl Diversity: Making Our Season Bright!  |
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Ninibini
True Blue Farmgirl
7577 Posts
Nini
Pennsylvania
USA
7577 Posts |
 Posted - Dec 13 2013 : 10:30:33 AM
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Hi girls -
Once the holiday season kicks into gear, I find myself having so much difficulty concentrating on everyday drudgeries. I just wish we could take the whole month off and focus on the sights, sounds, traditions, activities, events... Does anyone else feel this way?
Pittsburgh is such a rich melting pot of ethnicities, religions and celebrations... For example, at The Cathedral of Learning, they from mid-November to mid-January, they celebrate Christmas around the world with Nationality Classrooms decorated in the traditional holiday style of the different countries they represent. The city's uniquely diverse religious and ethnic communities host the most special, meaningful celebrations of Kwanzaa, Hannukah, Ramadan and Christmas. A wonderful European Market downtown inspired by the German Christkindlmarkt in Germany helps shoppers find just the right gifts for holiday giving. The miniature railroad at The Carnegie Science Center calls to the child in the hearts of all. There is a beautiful outdoor skating rink at PPG Place (which I have always called "Gotham City," as it is a square surrounded by pointy buildings made of shiny black plate glass), and people from every walk of life flock to the Phipps Conservatory for the Winter Flower Show. Many candlelight house tours are held in various communities, and it just wouldn't be Christmas without a trip to Overly's Country Christmas light display and Christmas Shop at Westmoreland County Fairgrounds. And First Night - don't even get me started! One of the most memorable New Year's Eves I've ever experienced included Don Brockett from Mr. Rogers Neighborhood (may God rest and bless his soul) reading the Biblical Christmas story at one of Pittsburgh's oldest Churches. If you ever are afforded the opportunity to watch the documentary, "Happy Holidays in Pittsburgh," you simply must!!! It really is the most wonderful time of the year in the city! My mind can't help but wander to all the wonderful things people do here to make the season bright!
What unique family and community celebrations and traditions do you hold dear? I would love to learn more about you and how the season is celebrated where you live... especially the special meanings behind your family's ethnic, religious and community celebrations!
This holiday season, let's celebrate our wonderful Farmgirl diversity! :)
Have a blessed, Holiday Season, sisters - love you all dearly!
Hugs -
Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
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Edited by - Ninibini on Dec 13 2013 11:27:39 AM |
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sjmjgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
566 Posts
Stephanie
Mt. Vernon
Iowa
USA
566 Posts |
Posted - Dec 13 2013 : 3:21:52 PM
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Our little town has "Magical Night " each year. The whole town gets decked out in its holiday finest and the shops are all open and have their Xmas displays. We have a huge light display/ art installation at the community center. There are trolley rides, a live Nativity with a reading of the Christmas Story, cookies and cider/Cocoa,Santa and his reindeer, carolers and music. The name speaks for itself. It really is magical!
Farmgirl Sister # 3810
Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
- Dalai Lama
April is Autism Awareness month. Autism affects 1 in 88 children (1 in 54 boys, including my son). Go to http://www.autismspeaks.org/ to learn more and help Light It Up Blue on April 2nd!
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Ninibini
True Blue Farmgirl
7577 Posts
Nini
Pennsylvania
USA
7577 Posts |
Posted - Dec 14 2013 : 09:12:19 AM
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That sounds lovely, Stephanie! Just lovely!
When we go out to the fairgrounds, we drive in a big loop around all of the light shows - very farm oriented displays. LOVE it! And then there's a big bonfire, little shops with fudge, gifts, cookies, hot chocolate, cider... They also have a talking Christmas tree which kind of freaked our son out when he was little - LOL! The memories! And there's a live animal nativity (the Holy Family are just statues), and a building where you can look at toys from years gone by that ends up with a sit on Santa's lap. My favorite part is the horse-drawn sleigh with jingle bells - they take you for a ride around the fairgrounds as you cozy up under heavy wool blankets. When it snows, it's absolutely perfect. :) SO much fun!
I remember one of my girlfriends growing up was Polish and she and her mother would spend HOURS and DAYS making cookies and all sorts of fudge. My favorites were their fried Polish bowties... I can still smell their kitchen now!
My mother-in-law always made huge pots of Lebanese grape leaves (or Lebanese hand grenades, as most joke! lol!). She also would line the counters with TONS of food - all different kinds of Lebanese goodies - that would be open to anyone and everyone all throughout Christmas Eve through New Year's. They say that when the kids were little, my mother- and father-in-law would invite the garbage men in for a hot, home-cooked breakfast. And the funniest memory they bring back every year is that my father-in-law's Jewish friend, Max Katz, would always stop by on Christmas Eve to sneak a piece of ham! BIG laughs over those memories! :)
I miss Christmas carolers at the door... that was such a neat thing when I was a kid. We used to also visit local nursing homes to carol. They loved it...even when they would go to sing the next stanza, but us kids only knew the first part of the song! LOL!
Back home, people would visit La Salette Shrine in North Attleboro to go see their elaborate religious light display. We would kneel our way up the marble steps to pray - my poor Grandmother - I don't know how she did it! There would be music playing, and I swear every year we went it snowed. Talk about magical!
There was also Edaville Railroad out in Carver... We would hop on this little train and ride all through Santa's village. Such a wondrous place for a kid to be! It was always freezing cold, but what kid wouldn't brave the winter elements for a train ride that ended with a visit to Santa? Loved it!
Our family tradition was to spend Christmas Eve with friends. She was Italian and would spend DAYS preparing a feast beyond anything I've ever seen since. Fish, stuffed dates, coooookiiiiiieeeesss, there were courses and courses... And she had a huge table of appetizers, hot and cold, which she kept filled all night long, and the dessert table was - oh my gosh, the finest bakery's shelves couldn't compare! Cakes, cookies, pastries, delicacies - you can't even begin to imagine! She was absolutely amazing, and Christmas was just that much more special because of her. We kids would play and eat for hours, watch a Christmas special or two, open a single gift, attend midnight Mass together... Then we'd drive all the way home watching the tower lights thinking they were Rudolph, and begging our Dad to outrun him. Hmmm... memories...
Hugs -
Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
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hudsonsinaf
True Blue Farmgirl
3162 Posts
Shannon
Rozet
Wyoming
USA
3162 Posts |
Posted - Dec 14 2013 : 5:16:00 PM
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| Oh how I love this time of year! For our family, "Black Friday" is spent putting up the tree and starting to decorate. The following Monday we start whatever we are doing for school - this year we are looking at Christmas Around the World (my blog is http://hudson-everydayblessings.blogspot.com/ for anyone interested). We always do lots of crafts and baking. We always do a Jesse Tree with lots of Bible readings. We go to a Festival of Lights (3 miles of Christmas lights) and to the zoo that also decorates for Christmas. We try to go to a live Nativity and have our own "Polar Express." First Sunday of Advent we get new Christmas ornaments. Christmas Eve we spend the day eating appetizer type foods, then go to a church service, then come home and get a new movie and Christmas pajamas. Christmas Day, once the turkey is in the oven, we bring pies to the Fire Department and the police department. Gifts consist of "something you want," "something you need," "something you wear," "something you read," "something for your hobby," and "something homemade." |
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Ninibini
True Blue Farmgirl
7577 Posts
Nini
Pennsylvania
USA
7577 Posts |
Posted - Dec 15 2013 : 10:32:09 AM
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Oh, Shannon! That sounds wonderful! We did a Christmas Around the World study in homeschool when our son was little - it was one of the most memorable Christmases ever! I love that you're doing that! Maybe you and your kids would like to share something they've learned with us here in this post? I would love that!
I forgot to mention that my Grandfather's family was French Canadian. Every year for Christmas Eve, he would make French meat pies (yummmmm!) and turtle soup. In Kindergarten we were asked what we left out for Santa on Christmas Eve... I, of course, was so proud of how different our gift to him was... I belted out, much to my mother's chagrin, "Turtle soup and a highball!" LOL! I had no idea what a highball was... all I knew was that my parents and grandparents got a glimmer in their eye just thinking about setting one out to greet dear ol' Santa! Imagine my mother's horror when my teacher told her about it. Apparently all the kids told their parents, and everyone was having a good laugh over it! Mom, however, was mortified! LOL! Good times... Good times...
Hugs-
Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
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Across the Fence: Farmgirl Diversity: Making Our Season Bright! |
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Farmgirl Diversity: Making Our Season Bright!
