Friday, January 11, 2013

Moving Forward into the New Year

   The day after New Year's Day seemed anti-climatic to me. We usually returned to school on January second with the exception of the holiday falling on Sunday. Monday would be the honored holiday. Our home would be stripped of the tree with its lights and ornaments. All of the Christmas greeting cards were removed around the door frames.
   January seemed to be a cold and banal month. It was colder and there wasn't anything to anticipate. The feast of the Epiphany or Three Kings Day wasn't commemorated with any celebration. It was now known as Little Christmas. We knew that some people held on to that tradition when we saw their homes still decorated. My family's Italian heritage had been completely assimilated with the American culture. I would later learn about Belfana, the Witch. All there was to wish for was school cancellations due to snowstorms.
   Yesterday we put our Christmas decorations in storage. We do it now with more of a feeling of relief then regret. I am grateful for our Christmas celebration but I realize that it's only a part of the year. We have to move forward through the year and face all of the uncertainties. There are some things that can't be stored until the following December and they are our memories. Our good times with family are the treasures.

4 comments:

  1. Lovely post, Robert! We, here in Portugal, as well as in other European countries, celebrate January 6, the Three Wise Men's Day, which marks the end of the festive season. In Spain, the day is widely celebrated and highlighted with the gift-exchanging that never happens on Christmas as most of us are used to.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Latino communities (people of Central America and the Caribbean Islands) celebrate Three King's Day. Maybe due to their influence we will resume celebrating the day.

      Delete
  2. This week, I have the honour to host Picture This challenge. May I expect to comment on your contributions? I really hope so...

    ReplyDelete