Do you have any holiday "secrets" that you have recently come clean on?

I always had a thing for egg custard pie which my mom would make every holiday. I always thought her pie was the bomb untill my wife began making them and hers had the other beat by a mile. I figured out that my mom had gone to heavy on the nut meg. My wife uses it too, but not as heavy. So we were talking the other day and she said she would make me an egg custard for Thanksgiving. I told her I’d dance at her next wedding if she would do that, because her pies were better than my mom’s anyway. I could see she was pleased by that, but asked why I had never told her before. It was just that I never had the heart to say anything when my mom was alive. But the truth is out now : )

I enjoy reading tombstones while visiting graveyard during New Year. Our country has a tradition of visiting ancestors’ graves during New Year. The idea is that the visit is to announce to the dead ancestors that New Year has finally come and they should come to the world of the living to celebrate with their children. And as with all traditions, some people just do it because it’s the “right” thing to do, not because they appreciate the meaning of the tradition. I have a feeling my extended family is among those people. They just chat away and wait for it to end.

Personally I appreciate the intention, but I don’t quite see why it should be done. We have already had an altar for my great-great grandparents at my uncle’s house and we pray for them during the same time already, so why do we need to come to their grave and tell them New Year is coming anyway? Doesn’t that mean all the praying at home is meaningless now? But I still enjoy going to the grave, simply because I have a chance to satisfy my curiosity and read the letters on the tombstones of my ancestors and random people. It’s always interesting to see what the tombstone writes about a person and fonder about what the backstory behind that person is.

The best thing I came across was a 18-year-old soldier who died fighting against the French in my family line. And there are some unnamed tombs of unborn children scattering around the place, which is really heartbreaking…

I know, children graves always bust me up too. Just to sad.