Day 3 of 25 DAYS OF HUGGING :
By October 22nd each year, exactly 63 days from Christmas Eve, Christina was hard at work planning for the 25 Days of Christmas and of course Christmas Eve. Christmas was Christina, and Christina embodied the spirit of Christmas. A time of rebirth, a time for family, a time to be thankful and hopeful.
All the messages of Christmas lived in Christina all year, and Christmas/Christmas Eve were the culmination of her year and her principles.
Christmas Eve in an Italian family is a huge event: the Feast of the Seven Fishes, the extended family gathering, the preparation, and of course the celebration. After we got married, Christina wasted little time in claiming Christmas Eve for our families, and the party was some 30+ people in the Carinato and Pierorazio families, as she melded two families into one.
Of course, your first and most important gift on Christmas Eve when you walked in our house was a giant hug and welcome from her. First time attendees quickly shed “visitor” status, and if that new person was an infant, well Christina had an assistant for the evening whom she loathed to surrender back to parents. She moved from person to person and spent time with each, celebrating their attendance at her party.
Christmas Day was then for celebrating her family, for simple smiles and huge hugs. Even though Christina might be cleaning until well after 2 AM on Christmas morning, she was the first one up every year, usually waking me up before 6 AM so we would see our children’s faces as they walked out of their rooms on Christmas morning.
Yes, before you ask, of course Christina watched “Christmas in Summer” on The Hallmark Channel. It wasn’t about the movies; it was about recharging her batteries and getting ready
for that next hug.
If only we could view Christmas and the never-ending Christmas spirit the way Christina did…
Please consider a donation to the charity at www.celebratingchristina.org/donate.
One day, one goal, one big hug at a time.