Christmas Traditions!

[_Blixa]

There's a cul de sac near Sugarhouse in SLC called Glen Arbor road that is also known as "Christmas Street." They've done spectacular Xmas light decorations for I think about 50 year now...possibly more. We always drove there to look at it when I was a kid (I can't find any good pics online, though).

Our family traditions included a spectacular tree with meaningful ornaments: some from England from relatives still there (given to my grandparents), some Italian ones that date from when my parents lived in North Africa (if you don't understand the Italian connection read a history book or two), and other things representing several generations in our family.

We always had ham on Christmas, because that's what my Dad got as a Christmas bonus. He also got a giant box of Bluebird Chocolates from the Bluebird in Logan every year, too. I REALLY MISS THOSE CHOCOLATES.

Also we all had fruitcake on Christmas Eve. Yeah, I know a lot of ignorant people make fun of fruit cake, but I think that's because they've never had any good fruit cake. The food writer Jeffery Steingarten is one of the few people who've extolled the virtues of a good fruitcake and that's because his wife is a jack Mormon from Utah. So yeah, Utah represent!

The family recipe I follow is a spice laden cake with currents, candied cherries and pineapple, walnuts and/or pecans. NO CITRON. And the batter includes a large amount of apricot brandy. Then after the cake is baked, it is wrapped in apricot brandy soaked cheese cloth and aged for about three weeks. Every week you unwrap it and put a fresh brandy soaked wrapping on it.

We ate it with a sharp cheddar and tiny glass of Cherry Kijafa (a danish cherry wine). Even as kids, we got a drop of the Kijafa.

Cookies and milk out for Santa, hand made stockings my Grandfather's sister ("Aunt Crystal") made for each of us kids. And not only was the milk drunk and crumbs or a half-eaten bit of cookie left, Xmas morning there were visible boot and deer tracks in the snow outside our house.

Christmas breakfast included drinking milk from Santa mugs made by a friend of my grandparents who had a ceramics hobby.

I still remember some of my best presents ever. One year I got a Kodak Brownie Fiesta camera from my uncle in California. Such an adult gift! My first camera! The smell of those tiny flash bulbs! I recently bought a completely intact Fiesta set off eBay just to smell the plastic scent of that camera. The minute I'm through typing this, I'm going to bust that camera out and inhale the memories of Christmas past...

[_Jersey Girl]

Blox!

I still remember some of my best presents ever. One year I got a Kodak Brownie Fiesta camera from my uncle in California. Such an adult gift! My first camera! The smell of those tiny flash bulbs! I recently bought a completely intact Fiesta set off eBay just to smell the plastic scent of that camera.

I have a Brownie Starflash and flashbulbs, stashed away in the basement! I'd forgotten all about the smell of the flash bulbs!

Guess what I'll be doing over the weekend?

:-)

[_Blixa]

Blox!

I still remember some of my best presents ever. One year I got a Kodak Brownie Fiesta camera from my uncle in California. Such an adult gift! My first camera! The smell of those tiny flash bulbs! I recently bought a completely intact Fiesta set off eBay just to smell the plastic scent of that camera.

I have a Brownie Starlight and flashbulbs, stashed away in the basement! I'd forgotten all about the smell of the flash bulbs!

Guess what I'll be doing over the weekend?

:-)

Can you still get film for it? The Fiesta takes a film size not much made anymore. I can order a version of it from ...Bulgaria? I don't remember, some eastern European place, where I can still get film. The BIG PROBLEM though is in processing. Because of the film size, most film processing labs don't handle it. There is one specialty place in NYC that would do it...for a price. Or I could develop the film myself if I had the means. I know how to do it, but I don't seriously have any kind of space where I could develop film easily here---even in the bathroom!

The next time I plan on visiting Utah I hope I can hook up with Corpsegrinder and collaborate on some photo work with him (also have him teach me a thing or two). I keep meaning to pm him the specs and ask if he could potentially develop some film for me.

As much as I love smelling that camera---and I have as olfactory a memory as Proust had a taste-centered one---I really want to use it again!

[_Jersey Girl]

Blox!

My Starflash is black with a neck strap. I so remember walking around with that hanging from my neck and what a big deal I was! If I am not mistaken, there are bulbs still in the camera bag.

Anyway, I found this:

http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/127_film


Speaking of olfactory memory and not meaning to derail the thread...did you ever take a hammer to the caps from the old cap guns?

:-D

[_Blixa]

Speaking of olfactory memory and not meaning to derail the thread...did you ever take a hammer to the caps from the old cap guns?

:-D

Wow. WOW!

We used rocks in my neighborhood, but still. WOW!!!!

[_Jersey Girl]

Speaking of olfactory memory and not meaning to derail the thread...did you ever take a hammer to the caps from the old cap guns?

:-D

Wow. WOW!

We used rocks in my neighborhood, but still. WOW!!!!

:-D

[_Blixa]

I was going to add more to this thread, including some Mormon content, but now its gotten moved.

Maybe not more moderators are needed, but just more sane moderation...

[_LDSToronto]

I was going to add more to this thread, including some Mormon content, but now its gotten moved.

Maybe not more moderators are needed, but just more sane moderation...

A-f****-agreed

[_Jersey Girl]

I was going to add more to this thread, including some Mormon content, but now its gotten moved.

Maybe not more moderators are needed, but just more sane moderation...

A-f****-agreed

ditto

[_Yoda]

(Moderator Note) I am not sure who moved this, but I moved it back. Christmas traditions deal with religion, and also with Mormonism, since many people who post here are LDS, or have family who is LDS.