At this time of year we gather with friends and family and celebrate the holidays in so many different ways.
This time of year, for me at least, is a time to conjure up some great memories …
One memory sticks with me forever – it was probably my best Christmas.
I was around 10 years old and during the commotion around our house I snuck out during the day when all the adults were fussing over the dinner preparations.
Presents had been opened in the morning and the day's guests had yet to arrive.
With my skates draped over my shoulder, my hockey gloves, a new stick and a puck I walked to an outdoor rink up the street.
It was the most perfect winter day. Overcast, but not dull. A little snow on the ground, but not too much, December cold, but not so cold you couldn't enjoy yourself outside for hours and there was not a soul around.
The rink was empty. It was all mine. The ice was new and untouched. I remember being out there for hours. Skating like a little fiend, pretending to be Bobby Hull making break-aways and booming (At least in my mind!) slap shots past an imaginary goalie to win the final game for the Stanley Cup. Rushing up and down the ice, round the back of the net, speeding down the wings, stopping kicking up lots of ice, and hearing the sounds of blades on ice.
I remember enjoying that moment for what it was. A true gift. It is my fondest of Christmas memories.
What is your favorite Christmas memory?
Leave us a comment – tell us about your best holiday memories.
All the best for this Holiday Season and a very Happy and Prosperous New Year.
Peace.
Merry Christmas Mose. Here’s a favorite memory —
http://www.businessesgrow.com/2010/12/24/a-very-lite-brite-christmas/
Santa Claus caught on film at Black Lake, Stanleyville Ontario!
My best Christmas memory is caught on grainy film, (think of the footage of Bigfoot striding across a clearing in the mountains).
Kids didn’t know it, but their Poppa, dressed in full Santa regalia, was “secretly” videotaped striding across the new-fallen snow behind the cottage on Black Lake outside Stanleyville, Ontario (near Perth). Then more footage of him standing by the Christmas tree. The footage is jerky, shot with little light, and therefore all the more convincing that it was “really” Santa Claus.
“Poppa”, also known as “Poppa Cork” and “Korky the Klown” (Dad was a Shrine clown for several years) died in 1998, a few months before Christmas. But in this clip, we have both a Christmas memory and a memory of the best Dad, and the best Poppa, ever!
Truly Xmas can also be the time for nostalgia which brings in good cheer.