Whenever I meet with my family and we have a good time together I remind myself that I am part of creating memories for my grandsons. It is a responsibility that I take seriously when I think of all the great memories I cherish, many from when I was very young. We all have memories of our childhood. They might be memories of a favorite food. For me a yeasty whiff of hot bread and cinnamon takes me back to being in Gramma’s kitchen. If I close my eyes I can imagine a big pan of her delicious cinnamon buns. Try as I might I can never duplicate the texture or exact taste of hers. Perhaps part of the magic was that they were made by Gramma’s caring hands and baked in her wood stove oven. They were lovingly handed out to eager hands. I would carefully unroll the sweet smelling, spicy baked dough adding Gramma's homemade hand churned butter as each coil came undone. The prize came at the end of the roll - the center, all moist and gooey covered in cinnamon. I gave it an extra slap of butter. I know all my cousins and my siblings would agree, Gramma Johnson’s cinnamon buns were totally an unforgettable experience.
Memories of Christmas can be the most powerful of memories. I was digging through some old family Christmas ornaments and came across a hand made Christmas wreath. It was perfect to surround the Burgundy beeswax pillar I’d just brought home. Does that bird bring back some memories for you too? I can remember birds on our Christmas tree when I was very young. This photo reminds me of a very old Christmas card.
Christmas tradition for me means eating the same wonderful cookies reserved only for Christmas year after year. My mom started baking weeks ahead of the big day! My dad liked the same little foil wrapped cheese every year and we had an angel on our tree when everyone else I knew had a star. I took some of this ‘tradition’ with me but my children enjoyed a star. There are many happy memories of Christmas when my kids were little. Something that they looked forward to most was when the Christmas edition of our local little paper The Pennywise came in the mail. The center has the words to all the popular Christmas carols and as a family we would spend a cozy hour or so in the evening singing carols. None of us are singers so it was less about carrying a tune and more about just plain fun and family togetherness.
I love having beeswax candles burning as soon as the days get short and the evenings are cool, but it is really important at Christmas. One of my favorite beeswax candles really are pillars. They create ambiance and clean and purify the air at the same time. I love beeswax Honey Candles® warm White Pillars. I call them warm White as they have a golden glow to the white. They are truly beautiful and a must have for a Christmas arrangement. I feel good that they are handmade and a product of Canada (made in Canada from Canadian beeswax).
I imagine my grandsons are going to have memories of playing games and of some favorite food at their grandparents. I would think they will have lots of memories of beeswax candles burning there as well. I will always wish that when they smell the natural honey scent of warm beeswax burning it will make them think of their Gramma. I hope they know it as a Christmas tradition and that burning a beeswax candle will make them think of times when they have spent Christmas with us.
What special memories are you creating for your children or grandchildren? We’d love to hear.
