The simple gift of Christmas

By Aimee McAdams
published December 1, 08

We’ve been making Christmas cookies and giving them to family, friends, and schoolteachers (and now bosses and co-workers) as far back as I can remember.

On a chilly winter afternoon many years ago, a mother called her four children into the living room for a family meeting. “We have a decision to make,” she began. The kids, sitting on the sagging old couch, began to look a little worried. “As you know, money is tight this year. I’ve been trying to put a little aside for Christmas, but it’s been tough.” She paused for a moment, letting the words sink in. “I have about $30 that can be spent one of two ways. We can either buy a Christmas tree or we can get the ingredients to make Christmas cookies. But we can’t do both. What do you want to do?”

The kids, who looked slightly relieved, looked at each other momentarily and then shouted in unison, “Cookies!”

Though it was 15 years ago, I still remember our Christmas tree that year: pine garland stapled to a wall in the shape of a tree. We all like having a Christmas tree, but cookies are much more important to my family. We’ve been making Christmas cookies and giving them to family, friends, and schoolteachers (and now bosses and co-workers) as far back as I can remember.  Peanut butter blossoms, wreaths, spritz, fudge, mint surprise, baklava, fudge, hermits, snowballs, and fantastically decorated sugar cookies. We’ve made these cookies and given them away every year, even when money was tight.

With unemployment rising and the economy doing poorly, some of us may be facing a difficult holiday season. But many families, even during hard times, still hold to particular holiday traditions.

“Our family started a tradition about ten years ago and it is one that has held no matter what the finances looked like, just because it was so important to all of us,” says Kathy Cox. “The day after Thanksgiving we would set out in search of The Great Family Christmas Tree. This would be a Christmas tree that would touch the ceiling in our 14-foot-tall living room, be abundant in diameter as well as thickness, and be approved by everyone in the family.”

Every year, her family piles into their car and heads south to one of the many Christmas tree farms. The car is parked in a central location and everyone sets out in a different direction to find the right tree. Cox continues, “In the midst of tripping over tree stumps, while searching for the tree, one could hear the sound of kids yelling in the distance, ‘Over here, I think I found it!’ ”

Cox, who grew up in Minnesota, recently moved to South Minneapolis. Every year, her family piles into their car and heads south to one of the many Christmas tree farms. The car is parked in a central location and everyone sets out in a different direction to find the right tree. Cox continues, “In the midst of tripping over tree stumps, while searching for the tree, one could hear the sound of kids yelling in the distance, ‘Over here, I think I found it!’ ”

One of the children inevitably finds the perfect tree and is dubbed “tree finder” for the year. The tree finder is “the first to take the saw to the frozen, cold, snow-covered trunk of the Christmas tree,” says Cox. “After passing the saw around, allowing everyone to take part in cutting, the tedious task of getting the tree on top of the car begins and the laughter carries all the way home to the kitchen where a hot cup of cocoa awaits.”

Cox adds, “We have taken part in this tradition no matter the situation of jobs or economy, nor age, nor home size, from large to small—the fact still remains that there will ALWAYS be a tree hunt.”

Leigh Combs, a longtime resident in the Powderhorn area, uses the Thanksgiving holiday “as a time to reflect and prepare for the coming year.” Combs also thinks about gratitude during this time. “I worked in a women’s half-way house for many years,” she explains. “We did a lot of things around gratitude. We would light a fire and talk about things we were grateful for and do readings about gratitude.” Combs says she “celebrates the seasons—the moon—the sun—the stars,” and she sees Christmas as a time to spend with family and share a meal.

“My mother bakes great pies,” adds Combs. This Thanksgiving, Combs and her mother will work together to make pies and donate them to a homeless youth shelter.

Frank Hurley, a Powderhorn resident, also has traditions he shares with his family. “One is lighting Advent candles,” he explains. “During the first week of Advent we light one candle; during the second week, two; during the third, three; and during the fourth, four. It’s so dark around Christmas and the candles are a symbol of hope, of waiting, of expectancy. And they give my boys something tangible to mark the time with.”

Hurley’s family also hangs up a Christmas wreath. “This is an ancient symbol with pre-Christian origins,” he explains. “A circle is a sign of wholeness and of community and also of welcome—it is a portal—so it makes sense that it is placed on the front door.”

We live in a diverse city with people who celebrate diverse holidays and traditions. Some don’t celebrate any holiday during this time, but we can’t help noticing the holiday commercials on TV, Christmas lights, decorations, Santa hats and the like. In this dark time of year, the lights and decorations can be cheering, but they can also be a difficult reminder for those of us facing unemployment and shrinking resources. Now is not the time to give in to fear or depression, but instead to be thankful for what we have and celebrate those holiday traditions that bring us together.