Holiday Traditions We Love.
By Karen and Erica
December is holiday time, and we have traditions we love.
We bring the holiday season in with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. We have been going for decades, watching as older dancers become emeritus and younger dancers thrill. We have seen Revelations about 100 times, and hope to see it 100 times more. Sinner Man is our favorite.
Then there is The Nutcracker, which we have seen at this time of year since we were children. Balanchine was amazing. Here’s the whole thing. But you really have to go in person to see the smiles on everyone’ faces.
This year, we attended a remarkable concert at Carnegie Hall to benefit rebuilding in Ukraine. The children’s choir practiced at Grand Central, then several ensembles sang and played Ukranian music, as well as the Carol of the Bells, a song that was first sung at Carnegie Hall 100 years ago.
Of course these holidays involve food. Karen bakes (and bathes in rum) her fruitcakes, and makes cookies—this year Ina Garten’s ginger cookies. Erica gets the biggest tree ever—though this year there were no big trees so she had to get a couple of smaller ones. We have parties, and we go to parties. This year everyone is partying, as if we had all been let out of our cages after a couple of COVID years. We wear glittery clothes. We exchange gifts with our family members, we eat and drink way too much, and we sleep well!
We hope your holiday traditions are also beloved. What do you see, or make, or bake?
This year my husband and I were far from family. He was having surgery on the 21st and Christmas Day was overlaid with recovery. At first I thought this would be terrible. It wasn’t. We focused on everything we had to be thankful for. We exchanged small, funny gifts, read a stack of library books we’d laid in, talked with our families with video calls, and watched a movie or two. I baked a whole, free turkey we’d won at a grocery store, and gave thanks that we had so much food to lay up in the freezer.
So many times we talk about slowing down and observing the real meaning of Christmas. This year, we had no other choice, and it was beautiful.
(Husband is fully recovered and doing great. More to be thankful for in the new year).