Advent Blog Day 14: A Very Smorgy Christmas

Growing up, my family celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve. That was the night we opened our presents and had what we called "smorgasbord" - a dinner of sliced meats, various cheeses, crackers, and pickles. It was not a sit down dinner, but instead a buffet. As kids we loved this simple Finnish tradition that we called by a Swedish name. Likely because our Finnish father had spent some years in Sweden, his brother married a Swedish woman, and my godmother was a Swedish woman married to a Finnish man. Finland and Sweden played a role in my life. Presents were opened Christmas Eve and stockings on Christmas morning. We were not a religious family, so no church attendance. But we had the turkey on Christmas Day. I have no idea what my mother's traditions were. She never shared them with us. And I never thought until now to ask her what they were. And now I can't. Anyway, I married a man who came from a very traditional Canadian/English background. Nothing was done Christmas Eve, presents were on Christmas morning and the turkey was on Christmas Day. When he heard about my tradition, he liked the idea of having something special Christmas Eve, so we melded our traditions together. We ate smorgasbord and had family time on Christmas Eve, and Christmas morning was presents. That first Christmas together I eagerly slept near the tree. It was hard to wait so long for presents. My husband liked the idea of smorgasbord so much that he took it to the next level. Not only did we do the meat, cheese, and cracker thing, but soon we were doing hot finger foods as well. Chicken wings, egg rolls, sausage rolls, and other kinds of easy appetizers curtesy of the frozen food section of the grocery store. I baked breads and cookies, made a quiche, and opened boxes of chocolates but he was the one who took charge which was fine with me. It was an EVENT. When the children got old enough I started putting together a Christmas concert to perform for their father on Christmas Eve. Some years I would write a musical play along with all the lyrics and music. My method of writing music since I can't play an instrument or read music is to sing to the kids the song I had created. They were still at an age where they could stand my voice. Other years I would pull together songs and skits for the kids to do as a variety show. They were great troopers and for the first few years they enjoyed doing it. And then when the oldest became teenagers they called an end to it, and the other kids decided not to do it too. So that was the end of that. I have one daughter that missed out all together although she might have been the baby Jesus once. But we never quit smorgasbord or family time on Christmas Eve which consisted of game playing and movie watching while we ate. Christmas morning was for presents. There was no turkey Christmas Day. No one wanted to spend the day in the kitchen, so it was a lovely lazy day. There was so much smorg that we ate off the leftovers for days often turning meats, cheese, and veggies into pizzas or omelets. There were no official meals, it was days of naps, game playing, movies, and grazing through the day. At some point between Boxing Day and New Years, we would have a turkey dinner. Often Boxing Day was spent visiting relatives. Now the kids are grown and gone, and the marriage is over, but as I talk to my kids I find out that they still do smorgasbord because it's was such an important part of their Christmas tradition. One daughter-in-law even took it up another notch by handmaking all the appetizers! I'm not sure if she still does now that she has three little ones. I should have polled my kids on this before writing this post, but they're welcome to chime in in the comment section. Traditions keep us connected. I may be alone this Christmas, but it comforts me to know, that my traditions continue in the homes of my children.