Christmas And The Hockey Tradition

[Exlaxchronicles 415]

   Christmas is around the corner and I'm hoping everyone here has a happy holiday and fun new years eve.

So this post is basically random musings about the holidays.

   Our family used to hold gatherings at our house and we'd have the majority of both sides of my folks relatives show up. The house would be packed, with the main floor hosting the adults and us kids hanging in the basement. There would be around 50 - 70 people on average each year and the house would be hopping. 

Our families would play games, the music would be bumpin and the liquor would be flowing. It was actually a good time.

  And after dinner (the women would prepare food weeks in advance for this. Lottsa food man!) and quite a few belts were unbuckled from all the eating, us kids would take to the side street by our house and play road hockey. We would play for two to three hours, and we sometimes even had neighbors coming out to watch or even play. This was some of my fondest memories around Christmas time.

  Our parties usually lasted to about 3-3:30 am before everyone helped clean up and went home. It was pretty much always a fun time, and my parents hosted Christmas for years.

 Unfortunately our last holidays together ended at the card table one year.

It was the usual hectic and fun time at our house until the annual card game with all the dads and few of the older cousins began. Everything was the usual until the booze starting flowing freely. Next thing you know words were said, things became heated and a brawl ensued between all the uncle,brothers and other cousins.

The two huge oak dining table got flipped, glasses were thrown and so were a lot of fists.

My mother and most of the women flipped out and someone called the cops. Unfortunately there were no arrests and my mom told everyone Christmas at my house was no more.

 Now some have passed on, we're all a lot older with family and some of us still reminisce and miss having those Christmas days at my house. Things have changed for all of us, the memories of past still remains.

                                MERRY CHRISTMAS VHL MEMBERS!!