Writing 101 has ended ages ago. But this was very difficult to write so that’s the reason I haven’t written this earlier. Since I didn’t finish this 3 part story, I decided to mix it with this weekly writing challenge. It’s was the saddest time of my life. This is quite a long post!
Last but not least, the sorrow continues. When my sister died, I don’t remember much about it. And my grandmothers were old so it was no surprise they passed away. Everybody dies one day. Losing a parent is always different. Those are the people who are most close to you.
This is the 2nd part of this story. I would say enjoy but it’s not really to enjoy. It’s a sad subject after all.
My father’s mother had diabetes which made her blind and lose her leg. I only saw her in a wheelchair because those things happened before I was born. Her life hadn’t been easy. E.g. she had to send her son to Denmark because of the winter war in Finland. She never saw him again. I remember my grandmother being very kind and she used to babysit my sister. She was very lovable. When we visited her in the retirement home, she sometimes gave me pocket-money. She spent the Christmas Eve with us. She got along with my other grandmother very well.
On Christmas in 1989 she was taken to the hospital. She had high fever and high blood pressure. That Christmas she didn’t spend it with us. She knew her time had come. To make the story short. On New Years Eve, 1989 they called from the hospital and told us she had passed away. She was 81. The new year started without her.
Day 10 on Writing 101 brings back those childhood memories around Christmas. Those were the best Christmases I remember. My sister and both of my grandmothers were still around. We always celebrated within the family. I don’t really remember those Christmas dinners with my sister but I do remember when we looked through the oven window where the ham was getting ready. I remember it was at night but maybe it was late evening. We thought it was so exciting. Christmas itself was fun when you’re a child.
My mother made all the meals herself from scratch. We also made gingerbread cookies. In the Finnish traditions, the Christmas dinner is a big part of the celebrations. It’s on Christmas Eve. It’s a way to get the whole family around the dinner table to eat various Christmas cuisines. Before dinner we had glogg (glögi in Finnish) with almonds and raisins. Some adults put some alcohol in it too. It was usually drank after going to the cemetery to put candles on the grave. It was cold outside so it was always nice to drink something hot afterwards.
The table was always nicely set. With two plates, one small and one a little bigger. One fork and knife each. Crystal glasses and napkins nicely folded. We also had real candles on the table. We always had ham. A turkey wasn’t very common at the time. First we ate cold food like freshly salted salmon and pickled herring with boiled potatoes. It was too salty to eat without. Then it was time for the warm food. The ham was the only cold one. There were carrot casserole, liver casserole (that I didn’t like) and rutabaga casserole. With that there was rosolli, a Finnish dish. It contains boiled beetroots, carrots, potatoes, pickled cucumber. Some people might put apples and/or Baltic herring in it too.
When the dinner was over it was time to move to the living room. As a child this was the best moment, presents and maybe Santa. Before that we would eat dessert. Sometimes we had cake bought from the store or we had Prune jam pastries (Joulutorttu) and ginger bread cookies.
The people around the dinner table has since then decreased. But that’s the way it goes. Those dinners were the best I have ever had.
In my world 