Traditions

I am a big fan of traditions - I like (need) the comfort of repetition sometimes! I love celebrations too, so any excuse to pop a champagne cork and I am there. Hence birthdays and anniversaries are big deals for me and I like to make a fuss and (note to my darling husband!) be made a fuss of.

So Christmas is a big deal - it may not seem like it on the outside but internally I am busting a gut to make it special for me and for all I care about and especially those I share it with. I think this is one of the many values I learned from my Mum!

Every year along with the tried & true - things like decorating the tree, different theme every year, bottle of bubbly; steak dinner Christmas Eve; opening presents after Midnight Mass (that one is changing a bit); spending an evening checking out the neighbourhood lights; and many others, I look for a new tradition each year, especially as DJ grows up (this year we added a visit to Santa).

This year Mum started a new family tradition for us. NUTCRACKERS!

The Nutcracker is the most popular of all ballets, performed primarily in the Christmas season. What you may not know is that the carved wooden objects originated in the Saxony region of Germany about 250 years ago. At that time the coal mines were becoming depleted and so the local mineworkers turned to other ways to make a living. Carving household objects out of wood became the regional speciality. Originally nutcrackers were fashioned after authoritarian figures such as soldiers, policemen and church leaders but later the cast of characters came to include villagers such as bakers, hunters etc. Legend holds that a wealthy farmer sponsored a contest for the best product to crack open his crop of nuts. The winner of the contest, a puppeteer, was awarded a workshop for future generations to continue producing these nutcrackers. It has been said that the seasonal popularity of nutcrackers is based on the fact that gilded nuts were a popular tree decoration and that something equally decorative was needed to open the nuts to enjoy their contents. (Source BalletMet Columbus, November 1998).

Pictured here is our very first Nutcracker, dated 2009. Looks like I have an extra item to shop for next year. Thanks Mum - for the Nutcracker and teaching me about what is truly important in life!