Daughter of Claus: Day VIII

Granddaughter of Claus

On the jukebox: Jingle Bells by Ella Fitzgerald

Today is my youngest daughter’s first birthday. As I have already explained, this has understandably changed the shape of our Christmas, giving us yet another celebration to add to our festive season.

On our birthdays, Mum always used to reflect back on our arrival in the outside world, and with each of Auri’s birthdays, and now with Elfi’s first birthday, I find myself doing the same.

Last year, Auri’s nursery nativity - her first performance - was scheduled for Tuesday the 6th of December, only two days before Elfi’s due date. I was so desperate to attend, and I hoped that Elfi would hold off arriving until after that evening. It was a wonderful nativity - Auri was a king, declaring, “I give you gold!” - and, to my delight, there weren’t any amusing going-into-labour-at-a-nativity anecdotes to be had. (My waters broke at midnight that night, something that I decided meant that the Elfi had been happy to let her big sister have her moment before she made her grand entrance - I feel this bodes well for the pair of them establishing a balance over the years to come.)

Elowen (Elfi, for short) arrived on the 8th December, exactly on her due date. Auri had arrived on the 23rd of January a few years earlier, also exactly on her due date.

I always used to feel a bit sorry for people who had birthdays close to Christmas, feeling it was a shame that, in some instances, their personal celebrations were rolled up into Christmas celebrations by people who don’t know how to milk life for all it is worth (my own birthday celebrations have been known to last more than a week - Auri’s followed suit earlier this year). Now, having Elfi’s birthday in the first half of December, we will take care to ensure that, each year, her own special day (week, or more) is appropriately marked. Tomorrow, Christmas Proper will start; but today is all about my gorgeous youngest daughter who has already brought so much joy to so many people in her first year.

I would love to hear about your own Christmas folklore and memories. Do you have any Christmas birthdays in your family, and how do you mark them?