Cookies, for Christ's Sake

Growing up Jewish, Christmas was not a big deal to me. It did offer some perks, like days off from school and dinner at our neighbor's/best friends' house on Christmas Eve. They were Italian Catholics and did it up big. Excellent cooks, naturally the meal was a huge feast of meat and pasta dishes and desserts to die for. I enjoyed seeing their sparkling tree and all the holiday decorations, but still, in my family Christmas was just another day.

And so it has remained all my life, except for those years I was married to a non-Jew. Again, there was a great feast, a pretty tree and generous gift-giving from the in-laws, but no mention of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary or the Three Wise Men. In fact, to this day the only hint of the religious aspect of the holiday is the occasional "Mother and Child" postage stamp stuck on a Christmas card that arrives in the mail. 

Now in my 70's and not living next door to any friendly Christians, the holiday has been watered down to checking out the home-baked goods that show up at our tiny post office, a local tradition that implies the small-town warmth and camaraderie as seen in those annual Hallmark movies on TV. Only our town, while small, is completely lacking in warmth and camaraderie, unless you count the sign-up sheet for the baked goods. Today's post office offering was a sliced loaf accompanied by a handwritten sign saying, "Lemon-Lime shortbread, enjoy!" I didn't have any but Mitch said it was quite good except that it was actually apple coffee cake so go figure.)

Despite being an outsider I always participate in the post office baking tradition. It's literally the least I can do to celebrate the birth of Christ. This year I'm thinking iced sugar cookies with some festive red and green snowflake sprinkles on top.