The Christmas season means many things to many people. I have found that my feelings toward the holiday have changed with age. At first I was totally absorbed with the thought of presents for myself. Then my focus changed to gifts for our children and grandchildren. That era has lasted longer than any others I may have encountered along the way.

I well remember my most memorable. It was the first year I was away from home. I was a teenager and in Japan as part of the occupation forces. I gave a lot of thought as to how it would feel not celebrating it with family and friends.  As the time drew near I wondered how it would feel.

The day came and went and I frankly was surprised to learn there were no after effects. I should have known after the first Thanksgiving away from home. I was on a ship headed for Japan and in chow line with about twenty guys away from being served my turkey dinner. They had just run out of turkey and we ended up with big baloney with all the fixings. That night the crew, it was a merchant marine ship, was selling turkey sandwiches for fifty cents apiece. I guess it was my first glimpse into the real world.

Christmas is my favorite time of year. It is both my happiest and saddest. I try to stay focused on the happy part for the same reason I avoid writing about the sad elements. My feelings have not strayed from the gift giving and children but another component has entered my field of view. It is food.

I am a traditionalist at heart. At this point in time and at my age Christmas means a time of eating, drinking and being merry. I look forward to the foods that I grew up with being a part of the season even if some of them hold no interest for me.

Ribbon candy does not appeal to me in the least but whenever I think of Christmas I think of it. My father always had it on hand during Christmas if at no other time of year. Peanut brittle was another of his eccentricities that was a part of the Christmas tradition that surfaced at no other time of the year. He had one other that came to him out of the blue but it lasted only one season. The time period this all took place gave added meaning to the theme.

He got it in his head that he thought a goose would be the perfect traditional piece de resistance for our Christmas feast. My mother reluctantly agreed and so the search was on for one. In those days there were no supermarkets per se. We had three groceries in our little village, The A&P, The Market Basket and the Grand Union. They were operated respectively by Charley Neilson, Charley Spencer and Ken Margery. As long as I digress I will include if for no other reason than so as not to offend anyone old enough from the old town that may read this Woods Meat Market owned and operated by Bob Woods.

With all of the outlets to get the goose I only remember my mother buying it from the A&P. The uninitiated if they have never had a domestic goose should know they are excessively fat by nature. I well remember my Mom removing the giblets etc. from the body cavity and discovering every possible cubic space being stuffed with excess fat. Needless to say the goose had more than enough fat within itself to make an Eskimo salivate. We never heard anymore about the traditional goose.

They were other simple things that no longer have the significance they did in those days but were a Christmas tradition back then. Others that are instilled in my memory are oranges, California grapes and stuffed olives. They were a luxury back then and that was the only time we had them.

Fruitcake, mincemeat pie and Brazil nuts were also signs of the times as well as eggnog. Most of the items I have mentioned are still part of the Christmas season but most people today have no reason to view them with the wonder my generation did. In fact I imagine one could procure the traditional Christmas goose with much less trouble than my Mom did back then. If this missive moves you to be tempted to stray from the beaten path and try the goose you had better hurry because DiOrio’s only has three days left to order it for you.

In closing I wish to take this opportunity to wish a very merry Christmas to all and a happy and prosperous New Year from our family to yours.