Reflections on Christmas
by Maria Grazia Swan
The things I miss most about Christmas past are really the things of the past.
Midnight Mass was a sure thing. No one had to get to bed early because we didn’t get gifts on Christmas Day. Our gifts, or charcoal, arrived on January 6th, day of the Epiphany.
Now it’s Christmas’ day and Christmas’ tree. Ho, Ho, Ho.
Italian Christmas songs were sung during mass. And that was the only time of the year we enjoyed ‘Tu scendi dalle stelle.’
Now is Jingle Bells sung in Italian.
The church was freezing cold.
Now they have heat.
After mass, we gathered in big groups and went to private homes to enjoy homemade hot chocolate and store bought cookies. (seriously)
Nowadays, everyone rushes from church to their cars and hurry home to hide the gifts for the little ones.
Bah! Humbug!Buon Natale a tutti.
Oh, yes, and this year the snow arrived on December 27th instead of the 25th. Even Nature changed. Ciao.
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