Memories of kind, good and loving parents. Memories of my Mother's Christmas Portuguese Fruit Cake baking and the kitchen counters stocked with freshly baked bread, cookies, and cakes...filling our home with a warm pleasant aroma...A sign that it would soon be Christmas.
I can still sense the excitement of Christmas Eve, with 'carne assada" cooking, awaiting our return from Midnight Mass. As I look back on this tradition of eating roast meat after returning from Midnight Mass, I often wondered if this tradition was a part of my Madeiran heritage or one that had filtered into our lives from my Portuguese family's assimilation into "a moda Americana"...
The warm glo of votive candles and the "Lapinha" with the nativity scene, surrounded by offerings of fruits and nuts, a reminder of our spiritual devotion to the true meaning of "Natal."
Let us not forget the traditional Christmas Tree, decorated with ornaments that had been as much a part of our family as our dog "Skippy." All those presents, just waiting to be opened. Presents I had searched for months, never to find one. Presents hidden through out our home in places only a Mother would know...
Christmas Eve, Oh! what a special night, with endless relatives visiting, the sharing, but most of all the closeness of "Familia." The singing, the joking, the smiling faces with rosey cheeks perhaps from a little too much "vinho" or "aquadente." Such fun, happiness and love.
Christmas morning and more "Fond Memories." That of awakening to the smell of " carna vinho alhos " filtering through the house, enticing one's senses to spring to one's feet. Half asleep, following the aroma to the warmth of the kitchen and the first bite of month watering pieces of pork and freshly baked bread.
I was now involved in what had become a Christmas morning "tradition" in our Madeiran household. Though nothing is special of the ingredients used in the preparation of "carne vinho alhos" but what made this dish special to our family, was its annual visit to our Christmas morning breakfast table.
As I recall these "Fond Memories" I now know that this special time of the year was my first hand exposure to my Portuguese heritage. Traditions that had been carried down for generations and that will continue to be a part of our lives.
When this holiday season draws to a close, I will file away new "Memories." Memories that I'm confident will sustain me the rest of my life...
