| Sunday, December 6, 2009 |
| St. Nick's Day! |
Happy St. Nick's Day, everybody!!! :-D
Every year, my family celebrates St. Nick's Day because it was my grandma's birthday. What I think is most unique about our St. Nick's Day is that it was the day my cousins and I always got our Christmas stockings from our grandparents on this day. What's most significant and unique about that was that it was my grandma's birthday, so she did what many people say they want to do, but never actually follow through with--she gave us gifts on her birthday. I realized the significance of this far later than I should have.
This was our first St. Nick's Day without Grandma to celebrate with us. She died this May. May 25th, a day I still remember quite clearly. So while this was a more subdued St. Nick's Day than usual, everyone did their best to keep her St. Nick's spirit alive.
So in all, here's how I celebrated St. Nick's Day:
~CCD. Today we talked about how Christmas is Jesus' birthday, and I decided to make cupcakes for the kids, as per suggestions in the CCD curriculum. The kids had fun, and they weren't too sugar high when they left. (Though, I didn't realize the significance of talking about birthdays today until long after the fact.)
~Latin Mass. I'm being drawn to this more and more--I went 2 consecutive weeks, hoping to make it 3 next week! Good sermon about staying alert and knowing we're in spiritual warfare.
~Visited Grandma. I didn't realize until I got there that I didn't even know exactly where the mausoleum was, let alone where Grandma was laid in there. It took me about 15 minutes total to figure out where to go, but I found her! :) I said a decade with her Rosary (which I ended up inheriting from her) and then left to go home.
~St. Nick's Day party!!! :-D Like I said, more subdued, but everyone kept the spirit alive. All my dad's brothers and sisters and their spouses worked to put together the traditional stockings, while my mom, my cousin Ashley, her niece Chiara, and I all helped to make the mini hot dog crescents. That used to be our Grandma's job, so it definitely felt like a "passing of the torch."
All in all, a good St. Nick's Day, but with a huge gaping hole that none of us could fill, not with stockings or food or even laughter. But my grandma's memory lives on in the love that she gave to all of us and the traditions she gave us. I still pray for her soul every day, that God might guide her soul with Him into Heaven.
Bernadette Catherine Gottron
12.6.1933-5.25.2009
In paradisum deducant Angeli in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem. Chorus angelorum te suscipiant et cum Lazaro quondam paupere aeternam habeas requiem. |
posted by Kristin @ 11:06 PM  |
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| About Me |
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Name: Kristin
Home: Pittsburgh, PA, United States
About Me: Seeking my true Fatherland as I travel this spiritual journey with Our Lord Jesus Christ. I hope, with the help of God, to follow in the example of the saints and strive for holiness.
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what a nice tradition!