It must be finals week...

Here's a Christmas meme, courtesy of Mimi.

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate?
Hot chocolate. I’m quite fond of Silk Nog, though I haven’t had any this year.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
I don’t have kids. When I was one, Santa wrapped presents.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
I like colored lights. Hate the flashing ones, though; they give me a headache.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
No. We did when I was little, though. It wasn’t the real plant; it was a little elf-like thing in a sphere of plastic leaves.

5. When do you put your decorations up?
When I was a kid, sometime in December. Now I have Christmas at friends’ houses; sometimes I get to help decorate, sometimes I don’t. Last year, I went to Placerville with the Apostle in Exile to get a tree, and we decorated that weekend. I think it was the first weekend in December. This year, another friend already brought her a tree, and we'll decorate next weekend.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
My favorite tradition involves a potluck with friends in Olympia, so whatever’s there. I won’t be there this year; I’m staying in CA, and I’ll miss celebrating with them. (I’m doing the holidays this year both with the Apostle and at my own church, so it’ll be good.)

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child:
When I was 7, I got an indoor tent to play in, and a fluffy fake-fur rug. I crawled in there with books, paper, and markers, and was quite content.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I think I started putting things together when I recognized my grandmother’s handwriting on a present from the cats. I was something like 5.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Not usually. Now, waiting is half the fun.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
I don’t always get to—like now, I live in a grad student dorm. I’m going to the Apostle’s for Christmas, and we’re decorating this weekend. We’ll put up a new batch of white lights (her preference), and whatever ornaments survived last year’s sap-fest.

11. Snow! Love it or dread it?
Love it, and won’t see it again as long as I live in CA. I’ve only had one white Christmas, when I was 4. I don’t really remember it.

12. Can you ice skate?
Yes, though I’m wobbly at it. I’ve only been once; I always went roller-skating, as a kid.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
I don’t have one favorite. I’ve had a lot of good ones. Last year, friends gave me both a wood carving of Mary and the infant Jesus, and a Jesus action figure. It was the perfect combination of “getting” what I’m doing, and having fun with the idea. I know one thing that I’m getting this year, and I will love it.

14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you?
Celebrating the Incarnation in a community of love.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
Probably fudge. The Apostle and I celebrate practically everything with truffles, though.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Midnight Mass. It's a big reason I'm staying south this Christmas; this is my favorite holiday, and I want to worship in my own parish.

17. What tops your tree?
Not mine, but I think a mutant angel tops the Apostle’s.

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving?
Both. I’m usually excited about the gifts I’m giving, and I often have no idea what I will get.

Aside: I love getting presents, but I wish our cultural Christmas weren’t so much about that. The quiet, expectant waiting in the dark of Advent thrills me. Honestly, what does retail madness have to do with the Incarnation of God on earth? My friends and I share the holiday with a few simple, well-chosen (or much needed) presents; it’s part of the celebration, but not so much that materialism dominates everything. It’s fun, and still allows us to enjoy everything else about the holiday.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song?
God On His Birthday, which I can’t find a recording of. Also: O Come, All Ye Faithful, Joy to the World, We Three Kings (okay, that’s Epiphany), Good King Wenceslas, and lots of other old, traditional songs. There's also a bluegrass "Star of Bethlehem" that cracks me up; I think it's Ralph Stanley.

20. Candy canes:
I’ll eat them, but I don’t seek them out.

21. Favorite Christmas movie?
I don’t think I’ve ever seen one.

22. What do you leave for Santa?
When I was a kid, milk and cookies.