Treats and Traditions
"From generation to generation,
we will recount your praise."
Psalm 79:13 (NIV)
Webster's definition of "tradition" - the transmission of custom or beliefs from generation to generation
The cover is torn off of my 1974 Sweets and Treats, Volume 2 Forestdale Presbyterian cookbook, but my favorite family recipe still remains. In the old church cookbook, the recipe is simply known as "Icy Punch." I never, however, knew it by that name. To me and countless others the delicious concoction was simply "Mee-Maw" punch. Bruce's grandmother Mee-Maw and most of the other older church ladies served the red icy punch at countless church teas, weddings, bridal showers, and holiday celebrations.
There is nothing fancy about the ingredients of this slushy delicious punch, but making it does require some time and preparation. The hardest part is chipping or shaving the punch's ice. "Mee-maw Punch" is simply:
2 packages of strawberry Kool-Aid
2 cups of sugar
1 large can of frozen lemonade concentrate
Add enough water to make a gallon of punch base.
Freeze the Kool-Aid mixture; chip or shave it; and store in zip lock bags until needed. When ready to serve, combine the shaved ice with 1 large can of unsweetened pineapple juice, and 1 two liter ginger ale.
After Mee-Maw died in 1972, the Evans family continued to call the family recipe "Mee-Maw" punch until my children came along. To Meredith and Robert, the punch was always "Mimi" punch, named in honor of Bruce's mom. No matter the holiday- Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's or birthday- no Evans' family celebration was complete without "Mimi" punch. Through the years, we created favorite Evans stories around the beloved recipe, including one nameless 6 year old granddaughter who gave everyone she served a stomach bug in addition to their punch. That Christmas, the stomach bug didn't just stay in Birmingham, but affected other family members from Illinois to North Carolina! We laugh about it now, but it certainly wasn't funny then.
This Thanksgiving Day Bruce and I celebrated at home with 26 other family members and friends. After lunch and kitchen duty, my cut crystal punch bowl came out and I prepared our Mimi punch. Granddaughters Julia (7) and Caroline (4) asked guests if they wanted Mimi punch. I was busy in the kitchen, but I clearly heard the girls say, "Who wants "Mia" punch?" The torch had been passed without me realizing it. Our Evans' family tradition had transferred from Mee-Maw, to Mimi, and now to me, one generation to the next. I have no doubt that Mia punch will soon be Meredith punch and one day be Hamblen punch.
Last night as we lit the first candle in our Advent wreath, I reflected again on the importance of tradition and establishing familiar story lines across generations. I didn't grow up celebrating the Advent season, but I'm so grateful that Bruce and I discovered this lovely tradition as young parents. Today, my children and grandchildren celebrate the Advent season in their own homes. As we do, we reflect not only on the preparation, celebration, joy and revelation that Christ's first coming brought, but we also look forward in anticipation for His second coming. Along the way, we also fondly remember the long ago wiggles and giggles of harried and hurried Evans Advent devotions. Back then four young Evans children fought over who would blow out the lone Advent candle of Week 1. Now James Bruce has the honor, as well as our Christmas music selection, all to himself. Bruce and I also remember wondering if any of this was worth the time and trouble it took to gather our troops for Advent devotions. Looking back over the years, we can unequivocally say, "Yes!"
What traditions do you need to pass on to your next generation? Do you have a favorite recipe, hymn, family story, Christmas tradition, or special memory that needs to be entrusted to someone else? Why not use this Christmas season to do just that, not for your benefit, but for theirs?
"Tradition is the story families make when we do things together." (quote from a recent 2018 Hallmark Christmas movie)
Generation to generation.