One of my most heartfelt memories of childhood is gathering with my family on Christmas morning around the dining room table. Our yearly tradition was to get together- my parents, brothers, and me- and eat homemade Colombian-style tamales and drink hot chocolate for breakfast. It was a moving occasion when we got together as a family, enjoyed one anothers company, and forget about our troubles. As we listened to scratched vinyls of Christmas carols and villancicos, we were united and grateful for being together.
This morning the tradition continued in my household. My father may be with us in spirit and the years may have changed our attitudes somewhat. Yet we came together in peace and harmony to break bread and enjoy the Christmas tamales. At the breakfast table I couldn't help but ponder on the cliche - the more things change the more they stay the same. In this case, the feeling of togetherness with loved ones is a quality I wouldn't change for anything in the world.
May you and yours have a very Merry Christmas, and a festive and wonderful holiday season.
See you tomorrow.
Happy holidays, Erwin. Congratulations on being the engine of the Latin Americanist, which has been fun to both read and contribute to over the past year.
ReplyDeleteMay 2009 bring an exciting year for Latin America, and new readership to the blog.
Thanks for your gracious comments and many thanks to Maegan, Alison, and you for your insightful posts.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, many thanks to all the readers for reading our simple blog; without them our efforts would be in vain.