Samantha, thank you for this beautiful essay. This was the first Christmas for my in-laws since the loss of my husband’s beloved grandfather and his absent presence, a pillar of our own, remains incredibly raw. The ache of our hearts in grief for the person we cannot turn to, throw our arms around in love, wink at in shared unspoken mirth, is inescapable. I wholeheartedly relate to you and your loved ones embracing a new approach to your festive gathering this year as you find a way to live with grief. And I’m about to send this issue of yours to my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law as I’ve found it so comforting.
With my sweet husband and I, the only traditions we really have are our “festive” coffee that’s enhanced with Baileys or whiskey and cream then a long walk together. We usually try and plan out 12 Dates of Christmas that are small things together throughout December in lieu of gifts. This year, one date was a snowy walk and then getting kebabs together. Simple, maybe silly, but love-filled, like the best traditions.
Lastly, I wanted to say that we’ve just moved to Kutaisi in Northern Georgia. If your travels next year bring you here, let me know and we can have a wine or coffee xx thank you for your vivid, engrossing writing xx
Oh Aoife—thank you for this sweet, sweet comment. I am so sorry for the loss of your husband’s grandfather. I hope you and your family were able to find respite in each other this holiday season. When we first lost my grandmother, I found comfort in looking around at my loved ones and remembering that she played a part in creating each of them. And the 12 Dates of Christmas sounds so lovely! Nick and I could barely think of any presents we wanted this year anyway, so I love the idea of doing small-yet-meaningful things in lieu of gifts.
I have been wanting to visit Georgia forever!! I’m intent on getting to Turkey this year, and have been thinking that Georgia is almost too close not to do it at the same time…when I make it there, I would love to grab coffee. ❤️
Your photos are very pretty! My husband is also of Scandinavian descent and recently we started watching Wild Nordic on Disney plus. The show has amazing shots of Norway also! I recommend checking it out if you can.
Always love your newsletters. At christmas eve dinner this year, i asked what food traditions we all had growing up as our family isn't blood related as much as created, and we heard everything from "peanut butter sandwiches before we went to the beach" to "homemade ravioli with pig brains." The idea of food-based traditions has always intrigued me!
All my 85 yo stepdad said was he'd make them with his grandmother in San Francisco when she hosted Christmas, and he distinctly recalled not liking the filling ha. The conversation at the table debated whether pig brains back then were a delicacy or a cheap meat. . . .
Lol this is both hilarious and interesting! Making homemade ravioli with grandma sounds like a lot of fun, but perhaps more so if the filling is a more standard beef or cheese. I'm now Googling pig brains in Italian food...apparently they are sometimes served fried and with a squeeze of lemon? None for me, thanks!
Oh cool!! Love that you're looking it up! What was most interesting was that in 20 years i don't recall hearing this or remembering my stepdad had italians in his family heritage - tho i could just forget. But hearing about the cioppino that his uncle made and the ravioli gave me a whole new understanding of his past!
I must admit that I had to Google tri tip. I didn't realize that it is a cut of steak. The brown cheese and lefse sound delicious! We always have mincemeat pie on Christmas, I bake certain cookies, but other than that we try and mix up the menu. Thanks for linking to my Substack! A very Merry Christmas to you and yours! The hearts are sweet.
🤗 a very merry Christmas to you too, Vicki! I think tri tip may be a regional thing, which I didn’t realize until many years after I’d left California...you don’t tend to see it anywhere else. If you do try the brown cheese, please report back! I fed it to my in-laws a couple days ago and it was (mostly) a hit.
Samantha, thank you for this beautiful essay. This was the first Christmas for my in-laws since the loss of my husband’s beloved grandfather and his absent presence, a pillar of our own, remains incredibly raw. The ache of our hearts in grief for the person we cannot turn to, throw our arms around in love, wink at in shared unspoken mirth, is inescapable. I wholeheartedly relate to you and your loved ones embracing a new approach to your festive gathering this year as you find a way to live with grief. And I’m about to send this issue of yours to my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law as I’ve found it so comforting.
With my sweet husband and I, the only traditions we really have are our “festive” coffee that’s enhanced with Baileys or whiskey and cream then a long walk together. We usually try and plan out 12 Dates of Christmas that are small things together throughout December in lieu of gifts. This year, one date was a snowy walk and then getting kebabs together. Simple, maybe silly, but love-filled, like the best traditions.
Lastly, I wanted to say that we’ve just moved to Kutaisi in Northern Georgia. If your travels next year bring you here, let me know and we can have a wine or coffee xx thank you for your vivid, engrossing writing xx
Oh Aoife—thank you for this sweet, sweet comment. I am so sorry for the loss of your husband’s grandfather. I hope you and your family were able to find respite in each other this holiday season. When we first lost my grandmother, I found comfort in looking around at my loved ones and remembering that she played a part in creating each of them. And the 12 Dates of Christmas sounds so lovely! Nick and I could barely think of any presents we wanted this year anyway, so I love the idea of doing small-yet-meaningful things in lieu of gifts.
I have been wanting to visit Georgia forever!! I’m intent on getting to Turkey this year, and have been thinking that Georgia is almost too close not to do it at the same time…when I make it there, I would love to grab coffee. ❤️
Your photos are very pretty! My husband is also of Scandinavian descent and recently we started watching Wild Nordic on Disney plus. The show has amazing shots of Norway also! I recommend checking it out if you can.
Ohh great recommendation, Hoang! I will definitely check out Wild Nordic, thank you ❤️
Always love your newsletters. At christmas eve dinner this year, i asked what food traditions we all had growing up as our family isn't blood related as much as created, and we heard everything from "peanut butter sandwiches before we went to the beach" to "homemade ravioli with pig brains." The idea of food-based traditions has always intrigued me!
I MUST know more about the ravioli with pig brains!!
All my 85 yo stepdad said was he'd make them with his grandmother in San Francisco when she hosted Christmas, and he distinctly recalled not liking the filling ha. The conversation at the table debated whether pig brains back then were a delicacy or a cheap meat. . . .
Lol this is both hilarious and interesting! Making homemade ravioli with grandma sounds like a lot of fun, but perhaps more so if the filling is a more standard beef or cheese. I'm now Googling pig brains in Italian food...apparently they are sometimes served fried and with a squeeze of lemon? None for me, thanks!
Oh cool!! Love that you're looking it up! What was most interesting was that in 20 years i don't recall hearing this or remembering my stepdad had italians in his family heritage - tho i could just forget. But hearing about the cioppino that his uncle made and the ravioli gave me a whole new understanding of his past!
I must admit that I had to Google tri tip. I didn't realize that it is a cut of steak. The brown cheese and lefse sound delicious! We always have mincemeat pie on Christmas, I bake certain cookies, but other than that we try and mix up the menu. Thanks for linking to my Substack! A very Merry Christmas to you and yours! The hearts are sweet.
🤗 a very merry Christmas to you too, Vicki! I think tri tip may be a regional thing, which I didn’t realize until many years after I’d left California...you don’t tend to see it anywhere else. If you do try the brown cheese, please report back! I fed it to my in-laws a couple days ago and it was (mostly) a hit.