Happy Secular Winter Holiday 2010!

Merry Christmas everyone! In addition, happy birthday to the blog! While I've been a bad blogger this year and only written twenty or so posts, it's still seven years old and that's still a reason to celebrate. So much has changed in my life in the last seven years and I can only imagine what posts I will neglect to write in the years to come.

As I believe I've written before, but I'm too lazy to check for sure, a big part of Christmas to me is reflecting on the past and tradition. Of course, that's true for most people, to a large extent, because it's a religious holiday. I, instead, concentrate more on the traditions of my family, both my immediate family and the ways I imagine my family, at least on the Ramm side, has celebrated Christmas for hundreds of years. When we cut out the little electric lights, we see a Christmas tree similar to one my family would have enjoyed in the 1800s or before, illuminated only by lit candles clipped to the branches.

I also remember the Christmases of my childhood, when both grandmothers and my uncle would visit. The grandmothers would entertain me and my brother as we waited impatiently for the magical moment when the sound of Bach's festive music alerted us to the fact that my parents had finally finished decorating the tree and it was ready to see. I believe Christmas Eves were approximately 96 hours long in those days. In the photo, which I believe is from the Christmas of 1979, you can see my marveling at my new toy, a remote controlled R2D2. Even in those days, I had probably requested Luke Skywalker, but this was the next best thing!

A couple of days ago, my Most Faithful Readers found the little R2 in the basement of their house. He looks a little worse for wear and doesn't do much other than make some odd noises when batteries are inserted, but I'm still glad they found him.