Tradition

Saying this word to myself, I immediately get an image of Reptevia singing with his hands flailing in the air and shimmying his shoulders while chickens scatter around him. And the next image is that of my brother-in-law imitating this scene from 'Fiddler On The Roof'.

Traditions are so comforting, aren't they? This time of year, I tend to treasure our traditions even more, whether it be decorating the Christmas tree as a family, reading the story of Christs' birth to the kids (and reminding ourselves of this amazing miracle!!), planning my family's Christmas party, etc....

The other night, we were heading off to our fellowship night with some of our friends from church, and while trying to decide what to make, a holiday tradition came to mind.

As a child I would watch my mother make Thumbprint cookies every Thanksgiving and Christmas. They were a time consuming cookie to make, so she only made them on these special occasions. I loved to stick my thumb into the dough before it went in the oven, and then roll them in confectioners' sugar after they came out. When I was a little older, she let me drop teaspoon fulls of the chocolate filling into the depressions. I LOVED those cookies!!

My mother doesn't do much baking any more (still does a lot of cooking though), and the tradition of making Thumbprint cookies for the holidays has fallen on me. I hate to use the term 'fallen', because it sounds as if I don't want this task - but I do!!! Each year it is something I look forward to, as it brings back memories of making them with my mother.

I brought a batch of Thumbprints to our fellowship group the other night, and everyone loved them. I shared the recipe with one of the families, and I can't help but wonder if it may now become a part of their holiday traditions.