I have decided upon a " hard candy Christmas " this year. Of course the Dolly Parton song about a hard candy Christmas immediately popped to mind. I could hear her singing, it's like a hard candy Christmas but the rest of the lyrics were a bit fuzzy. I went to you tube to give it a listen. Turns out the lyrics are a sad tale. Well, that isn't what I had in mind. To me a hard candy Christmas would be an old fashioned Christmas. And this year, for no particular reason, I am feeling very nostalgic.
The Christmases of my past always included hard candy. I vividly recall a bowl of that candy sitting on the coffee table. They looked like brightly wrapped little packages to me. After they had sat there a while they would get stuck together. I enjoyed breaking them apart to get the one I liked best. Mom would yell, quit playing with that candy, but I could just tell her, I had no choice. Had to break it apart ! At church we would always get a small box of hard candy too. The little box, like animal crackers came in, with a string handle.
Ribbon candy was also a popular choice. Remember how your fingers always got all sticky eating that ? Had to be careful of sharp edges too ! The government probably has made some regulation about that by now. Well, at least a warning label !
Maybe this feeling has come from a find in the attic. I was up there for something else when I spotted a gift I had received. It was still in the box. The picture showed a sleigh and one reindeer. I brought it downstairs and opened the package. It was a ceramic piece. The sleigh looked like it was made for holding hard candy ! That is what came to mind anyway. And so I bought a bag of that candy and filled that sleigh right up. It is the first piece of Christmas ornamentation to show up this year. I think the theme is set. Over the next few days the remainder of my decorations will come down and make their appearance. I will have to get the kids to make me a paper chain. I may not put it on the tree but I will drape it over the doorway. Can't have an old fashioned Christmas without a paper chain. If the ambition strikes , I will make a yule log. As a kid they were always made of white birch. That is hard to come by around these parts for some reason. I could just use pine.
Yes I think I will make myself a hard candy Christmas. Reserved and with homemade item abounding. Try to bring back the memories of Christmas past with the hope of Christmas future. This is the time of year that traditions are enjoyed. It is also the time to make traditions. It is a comfort to know that some of your own traditions will be passed to future generations. That is what makes them traditional after all. This year a few of the old ones will be on display. I look forward to that moment. That one moment that always comes with the holiday. At some point I will sit and listen to the Christmas tree. It will speak to me and tell the tale. And for just a brief moment every year I feel that presence, that special time when there is " Peace on Earth and Good Will toward Man ". Christmas, eternal in it's message and never really old fashioned.
The Christmases of my past always included hard candy. I vividly recall a bowl of that candy sitting on the coffee table. They looked like brightly wrapped little packages to me. After they had sat there a while they would get stuck together. I enjoyed breaking them apart to get the one I liked best. Mom would yell, quit playing with that candy, but I could just tell her, I had no choice. Had to break it apart ! At church we would always get a small box of hard candy too. The little box, like animal crackers came in, with a string handle.
Ribbon candy was also a popular choice. Remember how your fingers always got all sticky eating that ? Had to be careful of sharp edges too ! The government probably has made some regulation about that by now. Well, at least a warning label !
Maybe this feeling has come from a find in the attic. I was up there for something else when I spotted a gift I had received. It was still in the box. The picture showed a sleigh and one reindeer. I brought it downstairs and opened the package. It was a ceramic piece. The sleigh looked like it was made for holding hard candy ! That is what came to mind anyway. And so I bought a bag of that candy and filled that sleigh right up. It is the first piece of Christmas ornamentation to show up this year. I think the theme is set. Over the next few days the remainder of my decorations will come down and make their appearance. I will have to get the kids to make me a paper chain. I may not put it on the tree but I will drape it over the doorway. Can't have an old fashioned Christmas without a paper chain. If the ambition strikes , I will make a yule log. As a kid they were always made of white birch. That is hard to come by around these parts for some reason. I could just use pine.
Yes I think I will make myself a hard candy Christmas. Reserved and with homemade item abounding. Try to bring back the memories of Christmas past with the hope of Christmas future. This is the time of year that traditions are enjoyed. It is also the time to make traditions. It is a comfort to know that some of your own traditions will be passed to future generations. That is what makes them traditional after all. This year a few of the old ones will be on display. I look forward to that moment. That one moment that always comes with the holiday. At some point I will sit and listen to the Christmas tree. It will speak to me and tell the tale. And for just a brief moment every year I feel that presence, that special time when there is " Peace on Earth and Good Will toward Man ". Christmas, eternal in it's message and never really old fashioned.
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