I have come to the conclusion that one of the few things that we can pass on to our children, and be pretty sure that they'll keep a hold of is our family traditions. I've been thinking about it for a while now, but am prompted to explain from reading the short piece in janie's blog (www.thedoldrums.blogspot.com) about easter.
**quick pre-main feature interlude - yes I am aware of the availability of links etc and the fact that everyone now has them, but I don't care and can't be bothered to do anything about it, so there - and everyone has titles for each blog too now - what's with that?**
Anyway, everyone has family traditions, most are obvious at these times of the year when everyone does roughly the same thing but not quite. christmas is the prime example, of course. there is the size and shape of the stockinh/pillow case/five gallon sack. whether you get presents officially from father christmas (usually for the children though not necessarily of course) and whether you leave hims sherry or cocoa or nothing, and if you leave something for the reindeer. do you have your 'stockings' in your bedroom or by the fireplace? when do you open your presents... after dinner, first thing in the morning, christmas eve? there are limitless posibilities for your own customised christmas, ad because you always do the same thing every year (well... my intended audience is about my age (17) and generally will not have left home yet, or is still going home for chrismas), and never know what others do, you rarely consider that there is an alternative. My brother was talkking about his girlfriend (now ex-) last christmas, and she (23, never left home) said to him "don't you enjoy the selection boxes at christmas?" he was confused, but it turns out that for her it is practically tradition to get one of those cardboard boxes of chocolate bars for christmas, and assumed that everyone else dos too. she will, most likely go on to give her children them every christmas, and so on. of course children get the mixture of parents' traditions and some made up along the way, but there are probably some families whose ways of doing things go back centuries, though it was not planned and is not even realised. I wouldn't be surprised if this isn't making a lot of sense, but at least I know what I'm talking about, and I'm getting fed up of simplifying things so people can understand.
Eeek, I just heard something in the kitchen and everyone's in bed. if I'm found murdered tomorrow, you know how they got in.
I'm dreadfully missing all my wonderful and helpful simple things that I need to cheer me up. I decided I was getting a little 'over familiar' with my simon and garfunkel CDs so I decided to give them up for the easter holidays, and it's killing me. I have to persevere or else I will feel a failiure, and wiould not enjoy the music much even if i did listen, but I am missing it all readfully, and have over a week to go...
plus my beloved Yann tiersen has stayed in cynghordy... what I wouldn't do for just one CD. I was desparately looking forward to dad borrowing 'Amelie' DVD tonight so I could watch the commentary on it, as well as be cheered up by the general splendour and beauty of it, but alas it was not in stock, so he had to get 'some like it hot' instead good film, but not exactly wonderfull or conforting. I'll have to make him get it from the library so's I can have it for the rest of the week. but not tomorrow! damn these bank holidays! even 'goodbye lenin' has gone, which supplied me with the little comfort of its goergeous soundtrack (my dear stressed Yann again) though only in moderations. and finally to mr. Izzard. his faboulous work has been so over- watched my me that itprovides but shallow comfort, and if I over watch it more it will lost its remaining magic, so like simon and garfunke, the magic will have to be recharged by a period of seperation. sigh. though I did watch 'dressed to circle' - the french one which was great nad made me fel good by my watching it all without subtitles and not understanding very little.
and of course also to my dear friends, who are no use to me 50 miles away in cynghordy, when they never come online! deary me.
what poor and dreadfully middle class woes I have. well I suppose everyone should be able to moan sometimes, and at least only three and a half people will read it here.
thaks for listening, you've been a wondeful audience
yours faithfully
mr and mrs hughes from south cornwall.