Christmas The Middle Years 
1987 - 1995

The next season of life I'll block off as our return to Canada from Brazil in 1986 until 1995.  Years which marked the second half of my childhood but very much a whole new world. I officially transitioned from being  a Missionary Kid to what I now know to be a "third culture kid". 

Although I do have a lot of memories of this era, I can't really say that they all radiated with comfort and joy. 

Christmases now seemed to arrive with a higher expectation and as it's bound to happen never failed to disappoint. "Things" seemed to be a big focus and so did the comparison game with friends. not that I was ever in true need , or that I even ever felt deprived - but our Christmas haul suddenly seemed to lack luster compared with the abundance of this new First World nation. 

The exception to the rule had to be my father's over the top gifts to my mother, which I can only imagine at the time was intended to impress her greatly ! He overplayed.  One year it was a full drum set - another a very expensive doll house . Bless him, he was a giver but it failed to speak her love language. 

More often than we would probably want to confess the festivities would come to an abrupt halt and be soured by an angry outburst or fight.   Perhaps it was the addition of teenager daughters or just the overwhelming life change for us all. 

Most of the extended family was still in Montreal so although we might venture some visiting through the season , Christmas day itself didn't change for us.  We did however, continue to practice hospitality to friends and even practical strangers who would otherwise have been alone. 

Of course  Nanny and Papa did come spend Christmas with us , or we'd join them. Nanny would bake "melt in your mouth" shortbread. Decorated with barely a twelfth of a maraschino cherry - a nod to our Scottish roots.  From that time on it was always turkey , stuffing, potatoes , and gravy, and sweet jarred pickles. 

My mother seemed to always try some whipped topping and jello type dessert from a magazine - mercifully she eventually settled on a rather "instant " version of trifle.... more whipped topping but at least the jello was now set in the cake layer. 

Another dessert that I found both intriguing and delightful was that Nanny would have a small Christmas pudding. Store bought , however even though she had a microwave (high end technology let me tell you) , this was always steamed . Years later in culinary school I learned that the technique she was using is a "bain marie" - very chic.   
Traditionally this would be served with a rum sauce but they were strict Pentecostals. In fact any liquor that Papa would receive as a gift would be poured immediately down the drain ! Instead, it was served with a warm English custard.  

The rest of our seasonal festivities now included school concerts, church cantadas  and piano recitals. 
This was also the unfortunate era of tacky decor - plastic trees with tinsel and angel hair that would hurt your skin and kill your pets.  Spray snow for windows and all manner of ghastly looking angels ! 

 Christmas Memories
The Early Years
1976-1986

I have a terrible memory that only returns to me in small pieces, often at the worst time. 

I spent my first nine years as a "Missionary Kid" in Brazil between 1977 and 1986. So, even compared to Canada in the same era, it was a different world. 

My memories, if you will, are mostly passed down stories told through my mother's lens and a handful of pictures - my mother was very diligent in taking photos but in that time they were expensive to develop and the concept of digital photography had not yet been imagined. (And let's be honest this was a season where my parents were literally using chickens as currency) 

 I suppose those early Christmas years were happy ones in spite of the fact that we did not spend it with our extended family. Nor did we have much - my sister has memories of receiving balloons for Christmas.   And there was, of course, no snowy -white , Hallmark movie backdrop in the tropics of South America. 

 

I remember one year, perhaps my only authentic  early childhood Christmas memory - I had,... found... a hula hoop hidden under my parent's bed. That , I recall, had been a very exciting thing to receive! 

Of course I faintly recall children's Sunday School Christmas performances with singing - and gifts wrapped not in regular paper but some sort of hard to fold, metallic cellophane-like material. 

We would always unwrap very carefully and fold our paper wrapping - especially the coveted larger pieces for another year and I do not recall doing differently until I was well into my teens.  

Every year we would receive Christmas cards through the mail from our native land, Canada. Full of colour, winter scenes and sparkles. Sometimes the cards were even indented with textures that outlined the pictures.  After Christmas my mother would ceremoniously bring out the good pinking sheers from her sewing box.  Then carefully, and what I perceived to be very skillfully , she would cut out the pictures whose backsides contained no writing and those would saved to be used the following year as the gift tags. 

I can recall singing at least one traditional carol as to this day , from time to time, I'll be humming away "Noite de paz.... noite de amor..... " to the tune of Silent Night.