The Unmuddled Mathematician

Traditions and Families at Christmas

By Chris Coray, The Unmuddled Mathematician

If a family has been blessed as mine has been there are years and years of Christmas traditions and memories personalized to each family.  For example, as young boys my brother and I had a very hard time sleeping on Christmas Eve.   And to accelerate the morning sprint to the goodies (we had to be dressed before going downstairs) we would put our shoes by the bedroom door, our socks next, then pants, shirt, etc, right up to the edge of the bed.  Once a year my mom could say we had organized our clothing, albeit in a weird way.

Oranges and grapefruits were big, especially in our stockings hung by the fireplace.  16 penny nails were needed to attach them.  Now there are few things I like more than a good orange, but Santa could have stuffed fewer grapefruits and more toys into those stockings.  On the whole, though, I lived an idyllic childhood with Christmas by far the biggest and best holiday.  A new basketball would get used outside even if we had to shovel snow off the court and freeze our hands as we played on our no net outside hoop.

All those years went by so fast.  Then I was gone, in the Army, and spent several Christmases on the watchtower in places around the world, one apart from my bride of one year.  No phone call, either, as that was not possible in those days.  On Christmas this year we should remember and thank all those who stand on those watchtowers and who did so in past years.  We should remember the missionaries, young and old, who have chosen to serve in places far and near, and ask the Lord to keep them as they honor Him.  We should give the gift of time to those who are lonely or experience hardship.

In my life there is only one unusual Christmas issue.  When a couple marries the traditions of two families have to be partially merged and new ones created.  Bobbie and I cheerfully agreed to merge our family’s Christmas tree type.  In my family we had short, fat, pinion pine trees decorated with tinsel. Bobbie’s family had slender, tall trees, with no tinsel.   In the spirit of a new marriage and fairness we agreed to alternate trees each year.  Somebody in the agreement had her fingers crossed behind her back.  We have been married 47 years.  This will be our 48^th Christmas together.  Counting this year we have had 47 tall, slender trees, 1 short, fat one in the first year.  What Bobbie would call a completely fair outcome. 

To be fair, I partially quote Dickens when I say that Bobbie knows how to keep Christmas.  It is she who does virtually all the work, the gift buying, the decorating, the entertaining and preparation of meals.  She has been the motive force and brought joy, refinement, family love, and togetherness for our immediate and extended family for two generations.  I have seen her so excited on Christmas day that her words come too fast to understand but the smile on her face makes words unnecessary.

Merry Christmas