I was recently read a list of questions designed to make me examine my holiday traditions and I was not surprised to note that I am entirely happy with the ones I follow today. They all came from my Mom and Dad, I suppose. And for the loved ones who have been gone from this earth more than twenty-five years now, their presence is certainly still felt during Christmas.
Christmas trees are great! My parents had a live tree every year. My parents liked the smell. So do I.
I also love Christmas music. I love to play Christmas music in my home. At last count I had over 1000 Christmas songs in my collection (that’s around 3.5GB of mp3’s for you technical junkies) “Baby it’s cold outside” with Louie Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, "Winter Wonderland" with Johnny Mathis, and "Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire"; were what Mom and Dad listened to and it rubbed off on me, I guess. One of my current favorites is a song called “Give a smile away this Christmas” by the late James Wagner. I even perk up when I hear Burl Ives version of "Holly, Jolly Christmas!" Remember? It was the song the snowman sang on the original television version of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I loved the elf that followed his dreams and became a dentist and saved the day by helping the abominable Snow Bumble. Speaking of Rudolph... The Temptations still have the best version of that song!
Each year I watch the movie "White Christmas" with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. I still feel it is one of the best films ever made, combining music and comedy to create the best Christmas spirit. (my personal secret tip: watch the scene where Bing and Danny do the “Sisters” act and you’ll see one of the funniest improvised sequences in film history) Not that I am a fan or anything but I have seen this film no less than 50 times and still never tire of seeing it. It carries a wonderful hidden message about leadership, being firm but compassionate and trying to bring the best out in others. A great message at Christmas or any other time.
"City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style, in the air there's a feeling it's Christmas".
I love meandering through the different “Weihnachtsmärkte” here in Cologne, Bonn and Düsseldorf. One of my favourites is the Medieval Christmas Market near the Chocolate Museum in Cologne. During the holiday season I like to go through the city and check out the festive decorations. When we were children our parents used to drive us through the neighborhoods and check out all the beautifully decorated homes. Here in Europe it’s not as popular, but there is a trend growing among Christmas fans to decorate with lights. I also enjoy the multicultural aspect of Europe and am as equally interested in the celebrations of the other cultures. I noticed that even some of the non Christian cultures do some decorating with lights and some even put up trees. What a wonderful way to embrace our likenesses instead of our differences. But please get rid of the tacky anorexic looking Santa Clauses climbing the side of houses. They look like something out of a bad computer game from the late eighties.
Dear Santa...
As children we used to write letters to Santa sharing our wishes. We then always looked forward to waking up Christmas morning to run downstairs and admire the tree my parents spent all night decorating (in reality we knew it was Santa but we didn’t want to disappoint our parents) We would check out our beautifully stockings, filled with goodies that hung on the fireplace mantle while my Mom prepared Hot Chocolate and Egg Nog and my Dad lined up the a of Christmas LP’s (that’s big plastic CD-like records for those of you too young to remember) for the stereo system. Now we could enjoy 3 hours of non stop Christmas music. Dad was so proud of his stereo system. Remember this was the early to mid sixties. We stretched Christmas morning out as long as we could. All the presents were opened on Christmas morning. This was a "decision" made in our family when my parents married and I know that many people open their presents on Christmas Eve. Which for me, takes away that wonderful “Oh I can hardly sleep” anticipation, but to each his own. I still like going to bed and seeing all the presents under the tree and wondering… ”What could that possibly be?" We always had a late brunch, usually consisting of scrambled eggs on toast, and I still consider it a favorite of mine. We kids could hardly wait to go play with our new toys, try on our new clothes and eat more snacks off the elaborately prepared traditional Christmas plates our Mom had made.
Wonder... that's a Christmas word to me.
Remember the song? "I Wonder As I Wander"? I suppose I have spent nearly half a lifetime of wondering and wandering and yet the wonder... the awe... of Christmas is still here. Last night I noticed the tiny, white lights of our Christmas decorations reflected in Kathy’s eyes as she smiled at me and it really felt like Christmas. I’ll make phone calls to my daughter and her family and to my mother, who all still live stateside. I love talking with my 8 year old grandson and listening to him telling me about the “stuff” he got and I just love hearing the excitement in his voice. It takes me back to my childhood and that awe once again. It’s not always easy being away... especially during Christmas. I wonder how unsettled Mary and Joseph felt on that cold first Christmas so long ago...
One last tradition to share: Mom and Dad always insisted that we write letters to Santa Claus. Today as an adult I don’t do that any more, so I decided to write a letter to people for whom I am grateful. I wanted to write a letter revealing something of myself to them, expressing my love for them and my hopes for their future. The purpose of this letter was to make certain that these friends knew how important they were to me, to my family, and to the world. This year, my letter is to you. Thanks so much—to all of you—for your love, support, courage, and example.
Merry Christmas or enjoy whatever it is you celebrate this Holiday Season!
Cheers, Smiles and Laughs,
Your friend,
Johnny Hollywood
P.S. You can find another copy of this letter with graphics and a downloadable Christmas Package with some surprises from me to you at: www.johnnyhollywood.de/christmas
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