Whether you spend Christmas Eve at home with loved ones or celebrating elsewhere with extended family, it's a magical night. One of our favorite memories comes from Mary Jane Solberg of Jordan, Minnesota. It appears in our book, Farmhouse Christmas, and we thought we'd share it with you today.
Late in the afternoon of Christmas Eve, we would go to a candlelight church service in town. The pastor always read the Christmas story and we would sing our favorite carols ending with everyone singing "Silent Night" in the peaceful light of candles and enjoying eachother's togetherness.
Sometimes, when we would open the church doors to leave, there would be a beautiful snowfall silently coming down and the only sounds to be heard were the snow settling in the trees and the people still in church talking. The trip home in the car was spent shivering with not only the intese cold but the realization that the festivities would soon begin.
As soon as we got in the door, my sisters and I would run up to our bedroom, slip into our flannel pajamas Mom had sewn and put slippers on our cold feet. We'd then run past Mom, who was stirring hot cocoa on the stove and placing a few samples of holiday cookies onto a plate resting on the table, and into the living room to sit by the fire that Daddy was just getting hot and crackly. As we passed out presents to each other, we would sip our cocoa, eat our favorite cookies and open gifts.
Dad would then get out his violin and play as many Christmas carols as we could think of until we were told to go to bed. Santa couldn't come until we were asleep. We each saved one of our favorite cookies for Santa's plate and Mom would fill a glass with milk. Both were placed on the hearth for the long-awaited visit. Daddy would always promise that he would let the fire go cold so that Santa could safely come down the chimney.
Wherever you're spending today, we wish you all our best.
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