Christmas is now here, there are only a few hours left, it's impossible for me not to remember all the beautiful moments spent when I was a child, and from here comes the magic and passion for this fantastic holiday season. Every year, in fact, my mother usually makes many culinary specialties with her own hands, mostly sweets, as tradition has called for decades now.
In all these years, among the certainties of Christmas, immediately after the tree and the nativity scene, there are sweets! The typical specialty is the cartellata, a fried pasta flower soaked in cooked wine, a thick liquid derived from cooking the grape waste used for wine. My brother and I sat next to my mother and grandmother cutting out long strips of dough, which was then worked by expert hands who created shapes similar to roses.
I always loved watching my mother and grandmother work the dough, it all seemed so simple, but in reality the skill of their hands requires training. My father, on the other hand, had the arduous task of tasting the desserts, a chore that he obviously loved. Even today he continues to taste the desserts prepared by my mother, more out of greed than out of judgment.
In truth, our family has always been small during the Christmas holidays, when generally the lunch tables are always very long and abundant, all the relatives gather all day for food and fun, a tombola here and a round of cards there.
Furthermore, I have always loved Christmas movies and cartoons, such as those by Disney, usually played during this period. In the 90s there was no internet or platforms like Netflix, so you either bought the VHS or you had to watch the film on TV at the indicated times. What times!
Christmas was also the time to prepare the nativity scene, I have always admired large nativity scenes and, in my own small way, I have always tried to imitate them with immediate results. However, I remember that I forced my father to accompany me into the countryside to look for and collect moss to put in the nativity scene, among colored lights and animals.
Not to forget the walks admiring the colored lights outside the windows and balconies. The lights have always fascinated me and every time I counted them, I don't know why... Maybe to better memorize those moments.
For me, Christmas represents a wonderful memory of my childhood, made up of many beautiful moments and today I would like my children to print these moments too and when they grow up, they too will pass on the passion to their children.
