Some of our patrons have written in to share some of their most treasured holiday memories. We thoroughly enjoyed reading these glimpses into their family trees and hope that you do as well.

Family traditions
Contributed by Sharon Olsen

As a child growing up in a predominantly Italian family, our traditions were mainly about our entire family and food. There were close to 15 family members who would sit around my grandma's very long dining room table.

Our dinner consisted of pasta and baccola, which was a very fishy cod dish. I cringed at the sight of it. There were salads and grandma's homemade bread, which was the highlight of the dinner for us kids. My cousin and I would crawl under the table after we ate to hide and sit. I think the reason for this was that everyone talked at the same time, so being under the table brought us some peace!

At the time, there were just two of us grandchildren, my cousin Rick and I. We were very fortunate as we received wonderful gifts and lots of attention. Our aunt Marie would take us downstairs to distract us by playing Christmas songs on the piano while Santa appeared at grandma's house bearing gifts. Even though our aunt played louder and louder, we could hear the doorbell ring and left our aunt in the dust while she continued to play and sing. We ran up the stairs to the front door, and there he stood in all of his glory. All I could see was his white beard, red suit, and a huge bag of presents! My cousin and I screamed with delight. We were told to settle down as Santa came into the living room. He dropped his bag. It was all I could do not to peer into it.

As a child, the gifts were fantastic -- from clothes, to books, to cowboy outfits that we loved wearing after the holiday.

As the years went by, there were fewer and fewer family members for various reasons, but in my heart, I cherished those times. I took with me the importance of love of family, the closeness, and the joy of cooking.

I'm now the matriarch of our family and I cherish those wonderful traditions that my grandmother brought with her from Italy. I have passed them on to our children and grandchildren.

The Irish McCauley Traditions of the Eastern Shore of Maryland
Contributed by Lucile Wagner

The McCauley Family is from the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The senior family on their estate of over 700 acres would attend Mass at St Dennis' Catholic Church (Dennis McCauley took satchels of gold and built the church, and donated the land for the cemetery that adjoined the church). Alice Homes, from a plantation outside of Richmond, Virginia, married Jerome (Romie) McCauley, of whom it was said that he was the loveliest and finest horseman to ever cross the Virginia Maryland borders. Alice played the harp and Romie played the piano by ear. They had many festivities, concerts, and the like.

After attending Mass we had our Christmas dinner, to which many were invited -- even new acquaintances. There were visiting friends from South America, and people from as far away as Hawaii, plus any one we knew that had no family to celebrate the special Christmas meal. Afterwards we opened gifts and sang carols.

Sometime that night, and each and every day from then until New Year's Eve, we would go from one home to another to spread the peace of Christmas and talk about what the day meant to all of us. We enjoyed the Christmas trees, displays, and the company of good friends -- a tradition that has since seemed to pass by the wayside.

Contributed by Sharon Olsen and Lucile Wagner