Midnight Mass at the Main Chapel at Ft. Sam Houston. When I was little, I remember my sisters and I always got brand new dresses to wear at Midnight Mass. We, my brother, and our parents somehow all fit into the old red and white Chevy station wagon, and we'd drive to the Main Chapel through the chilly dark, enjoying the colored lights which all the houses sported then. (Nowadays, outdoor lights seem to be the exception rather than the norm.) Our lights were always red and blue, very simple. One of my sisters recently reminded me of one particular year when a classmate of hers, one of Cole High School's finest students, sang "O Holy Night" and crashed and burned on the high note. It was one of those things that, being normal kids, we thought horrible and funny at the same time.
The Little Drummer Boy album. I'm referring, of course, to the old 1950's Harry Simeone Chorale album, not the later version. I learned all the important Christmas carols by listening to that album, and I also loved the brief narrative snippets, both spoken and sung, in between the carols. I particularly love the "Adeste Fideles" -- it starts out with just the men singing a cappella except for a soft bell; they sing the Latin very softly and take no unison breaths throughout the entire verse. The effect is seamless and stunning, like ancient monks chanting as they process through a dark cloister. The soloists on this album are great, too -- that lovely soprano featured in "O Holy Night," "What Child Is This?", and "Silent Night"; also the resonant bass that sang "Go Tell It on the Mountain." We still have that album.
"Christmas with Ed Ames." The other Christmas album I grew up with. Ed Ames has one of the most beautiful natural instruments I've ever heard; I could listen to him all day. The orchestration of "Do You Hear What I Hear?" is absolutely perfect, and spoiled me for any other version of that classic.
Christmas Day family dinner. Filipino style, of course! We always had lechon (roast pork), covered with its crispy skin, and, for those who like it (not me), Mom's homemade liver sauce on top. Pancit bihon -- delicate rice noodles mixed with pork, shrimp, chicken, and veggies; the Filipino version of lo mein, but lighter and drier. Mom's justifiably famous lumpia (egg rolls). And for dessert, leche flan, the Filipino flan, which is much richer and heavier than other flans. For those who want something American, red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting.Yummmmm scrummmmm......!
These are a few of my favorite things!!!!!!
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