Holidays are tough. I really want to provide festive, memorable traditions for my daughter. But it is also really important to me that holidays and traditions make sense, and that they are consistent with our values and beliefs.
So there is Thanksgiving. A commemoration of a shared harvest feast between the indigenous people of the Americas, and the first wave of European immigrants. A few generations before the British European immigrants attempted genocide against the indigenous populations, and the Spanish looted the great indigenous cities, destroyed their temples and homes, seized their lands, and ultimately enslaved the local populations, creating a semi-feudal system that continues today in my daughter’s country of birth.
Hmmm.
I remember the Thanksgivings of my childhood. Loud, chaotic sit down dinners for forty plus people at my Aunt Joannie’s parents’ home. And then hot dinners packed up and shuttled around town, delivered to dark rooms where the homebound sick and elderly sat in unbearable silence, and received their meals with gratitude. I remember trembling ancient hands touching my face and asking who I was, as some adult unpacked the multi course meals.
Those were good holidays.
Liana and I did the Macy’s Parade this year. Perhaps that will be our tradition. And perhaps when she gets older, we will do something to help others.
We did the Halloween parade. Not the big, rowdy Village parade. The second largest parade in the City is the Jackson Heights children’s parade, which passes just two blocks from home. We marched in the crowds, and when we got to the end, Liana received her goodie back from Christine Quinn, the speaker of the NY City Council. I wanted to take a moment to thank Quinn for her actions exposing dirty City Council actions with public money and not-for-profits that get public money and don’t provide services, even though she became the center of the scandal, for having exposed it. But my miserable City Council Rep was standing right next to her, and I knew if I started talking to the Speaker, I would go off on Helen Sears for sending money that was targeted for our community out of district. And this night was supposed to be all about Liana, not about politics. So I said “thank you” and Liana said “thank you” and Quinn’s handlers had her lean down and pretend to give Liana the bag again so they could take pictures. The we went trick or treat in all of the local stores. Then I raided Liana’s little bag, carefully taking out the little hard candies she could choke on, and I let her eat more junk in one evening than she had ever eaten in her life.
Hmmmm.
I tried to explain that Halloween was the halfway point between the fall equinox and the winter solstice, and Liana nodded her head knowingly in that way she always does when I am rambling about things that make no sense. She is very interested in the changing of the seasons, and perhaps next year she will understand some of my ramblings.
And I have a full year to work on better preparing for those holidays.
Onward to Christmas.
I actually think I have that one pretty well worked out. I’ll tell you all about it soon.
So there is Thanksgiving. A commemoration of a shared harvest feast between the indigenous people of the Americas, and the first wave of European immigrants. A few generations before the British European immigrants attempted genocide against the indigenous populations, and the Spanish looted the great indigenous cities, destroyed their temples and homes, seized their lands, and ultimately enslaved the local populations, creating a semi-feudal system that continues today in my daughter’s country of birth.
Hmmm.
I remember the Thanksgivings of my childhood. Loud, chaotic sit down dinners for forty plus people at my Aunt Joannie’s parents’ home. And then hot dinners packed up and shuttled around town, delivered to dark rooms where the homebound sick and elderly sat in unbearable silence, and received their meals with gratitude. I remember trembling ancient hands touching my face and asking who I was, as some adult unpacked the multi course meals.
Those were good holidays.
Liana and I did the Macy’s Parade this year. Perhaps that will be our tradition. And perhaps when she gets older, we will do something to help others.
We did the Halloween parade. Not the big, rowdy Village parade. The second largest parade in the City is the Jackson Heights children’s parade, which passes just two blocks from home. We marched in the crowds, and when we got to the end, Liana received her goodie back from Christine Quinn, the speaker of the NY City Council. I wanted to take a moment to thank Quinn for her actions exposing dirty City Council actions with public money and not-for-profits that get public money and don’t provide services, even though she became the center of the scandal, for having exposed it. But my miserable City Council Rep was standing right next to her, and I knew if I started talking to the Speaker, I would go off on Helen Sears for sending money that was targeted for our community out of district. And this night was supposed to be all about Liana, not about politics. So I said “thank you” and Liana said “thank you” and Quinn’s handlers had her lean down and pretend to give Liana the bag again so they could take pictures. The we went trick or treat in all of the local stores. Then I raided Liana’s little bag, carefully taking out the little hard candies she could choke on, and I let her eat more junk in one evening than she had ever eaten in her life.
Hmmmm.
I tried to explain that Halloween was the halfway point between the fall equinox and the winter solstice, and Liana nodded her head knowingly in that way she always does when I am rambling about things that make no sense. She is very interested in the changing of the seasons, and perhaps next year she will understand some of my ramblings.
And I have a full year to work on better preparing for those holidays.
Onward to Christmas.
I actually think I have that one pretty well worked out. I’ll tell you all about it soon.
