Hello! We hope everyone is enjoying the Holiday
Season with all its gatherings, concerts, school pageants and other traditional
celebrations. At Pathfinder Village, we
had a tremendous Holiday Show and Tree Lighting event last Thursday evening –
each year, it just gets better and better!
We
extend an invite to our local friends and neighbors to visit Pathfinder Produce
… our weekly “pop-up green grocery” that features fresh and yummy fruits and
veggies. Our Edmeston market is open at
the Village Commons each Thursday from 1 to 5 p.m. We look forward to seeing all our friends and
neighbors soon!
In
this week’s blog, our Senior Director of Education Maura Iorio shares some
thoughts on traditions of the Yule season.
***
Christmas, and the holiday season in general, is a time for family,
friends, celebration, and traditions. One tradition that always fascinated me,
probably in part because my family did not partake in it, was finding an orange
in the bottom of your Christmas stocking.
Don’t get me wrong, oranges are delicious and they’re a great source
of vitamins to get you through cold and flu season—but a Christmas tradition?
My Christmas stocking was always filled with candies and small trinkets and the
obligatory new toothbrush Santa Claus would sneak in there to compensate for
all the sweets … but never an orange!
It turns out that the tradition is not as strange as it seems, but
actually is rather sweet. Although some argue that it represents the three
balls of gold that St. Nicholas left for a distraught father in need of dowries
for his daughters, another explanation tugs a bit more at the heartstrings.
During the Great Depression, and maybe even earlier, oranges were looked upon
as luxuries. People did not have very much money, and oranges were not very
common or readily available. Finding an exotic fruit from a faraway state like
Florida was a big deal—something precious and delicious to wake up to on
Christmas morning! You can check out more interesting facts about the
traditions surrounding Christmas stockings here.
Oranges may be more easy to come by these days, and are fairly
inexpensive (especially when you consider most children’s Christmas lists
consist of tablets, game consoles, and other electronics), but they are a
reminder to appreciate the small things. Christmas isn’t about getting the most
gifts, or the latest gadgets—it’s about spending time with loved ones and
making memories together. Maybe that’s a lot of pressure to put on a piece of
fruit, but I think this year I’ll be making sure Santa leaves a spot in between
the chocolates and toothbrush for an orange.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Maura [and Lori]
