If I've counted right, I have three open spaces for prompts. If I've left your prompt off the masterlist do point it out. There are some from other people's prompt lists I'd quite like to steal, but I'd really appreciate some easy prompts :)
I could interpret special days in several ways, but my first thought is Christmas. If I had to live with a different calendar system, it would be not having Christmas, in my culture THE family holiday, which would be strangest. I remember stereotypical child-excitement at Christmas. None of my family have been natural good at choosing presents, but I remember my parents always managed a mix of big-present and stocking-fillers-exciting-to-play-with-on-xmas, that for a long time Christmas was always exciting.
I don't remember perfectly, but I think when I was little, we usually stayed at home, and then for a while we alternated between at home, mum's family, and dad's family. And then for a long time we would go to mum's family, which was a big traditional dinner, slightly more "Official Fun" than my immediate family would naturally tend towards, but I've always good memories of it, of big dinner with piles of roast potatoes, and vegetarianism not being an exception; of seeing extended family; of returning to Grandparents to open presents; of playing christmas games and starting to drink sherry.
And I've snatches of fun memories from earlier. I remember making a nativity scene with paper characters that stood up, mary, and doves, and everything. I remember making giant polyhedral decorations out of old Christmas cards. I remember getting closer and closer to being able to carry an organic Christmas tree home by myself. I remember decorating the tree, and stringing the tinsel and lights and debating whether they should be all round or more at the front, and whether the top should be an angel I made at primary school (which I recognised as a bit cheesy and not theologically accurate, but my parents loved because I made it) or a large star. I remember opening a box packed with wrapping stars, with a small cast of hand puppets in, that (I think?) mum and Grandma had made. I remember all of us having the flu when we first had the computer, and trying to go to Grandparents, and me wanting nothing more than to play with it and mum wanting to sleep.
The last couple of years, Rachel and I have had family time, just us.
The other obvious special day is my wedding and anniversaries. We have plenty of anniversaries, depending how we count, and neither of us are naturally good at remembering dates, but we still love counting them off and remembering the wedding, which went about as well as it possibly ever could have done, with a few small things we wished we'd managed better, but managing our complicated meld of traditions and preferences for "we're not quite sure what we want, but we know what we DON'T want", and being a wedding which was inclusive for everyone, without implying that people SHOULD have weddings, and was the perfect leaping-off point for our marriage.
I could interpret special days in several ways, but my first thought is Christmas. If I had to live with a different calendar system, it would be not having Christmas, in my culture THE family holiday, which would be strangest. I remember stereotypical child-excitement at Christmas. None of my family have been natural good at choosing presents, but I remember my parents always managed a mix of big-present and stocking-fillers-exciting-to-play-with-on-xmas, that for a long time Christmas was always exciting.
I don't remember perfectly, but I think when I was little, we usually stayed at home, and then for a while we alternated between at home, mum's family, and dad's family. And then for a long time we would go to mum's family, which was a big traditional dinner, slightly more "Official Fun" than my immediate family would naturally tend towards, but I've always good memories of it, of big dinner with piles of roast potatoes, and vegetarianism not being an exception; of seeing extended family; of returning to Grandparents to open presents; of playing christmas games and starting to drink sherry.
And I've snatches of fun memories from earlier. I remember making a nativity scene with paper characters that stood up, mary, and doves, and everything. I remember making giant polyhedral decorations out of old Christmas cards. I remember getting closer and closer to being able to carry an organic Christmas tree home by myself. I remember decorating the tree, and stringing the tinsel and lights and debating whether they should be all round or more at the front, and whether the top should be an angel I made at primary school (which I recognised as a bit cheesy and not theologically accurate, but my parents loved because I made it) or a large star. I remember opening a box packed with wrapping stars, with a small cast of hand puppets in, that (I think?) mum and Grandma had made. I remember all of us having the flu when we first had the computer, and trying to go to Grandparents, and me wanting nothing more than to play with it and mum wanting to sleep.
The last couple of years, Rachel and I have had family time, just us.
The other obvious special day is my wedding and anniversaries. We have plenty of anniversaries, depending how we count, and neither of us are naturally good at remembering dates, but we still love counting them off and remembering the wedding, which went about as well as it possibly ever could have done, with a few small things we wished we'd managed better, but managing our complicated meld of traditions and preferences for "we're not quite sure what we want, but we know what we DON'T want", and being a wedding which was inclusive for everyone, without implying that people SHOULD have weddings, and was the perfect leaping-off point for our marriage.