Ivy Lea Teacup, Cookies, & Importance of Family Traditons

 I got down all my boxes of teacups and sorted through them looking for the perfect Christmas teacup, and although I have a lot of very beautiful teacups , this teacup is the only one I took out to be MY special Christmas teacup. She is Ivy Lea by Royal Albert. I keep her on the buffet with a little shepherd and some sheep , and her matching creamer & sugar bowl.

 I snatched a few Berry Butternuts* from the stash my husband baked this past weekend. Berry Butternuts are a family Christmas tradition started in my husband's family by his father.

 Berry Butternuts are a family tradition my husband is now carrying on in our family, and he takes this very seriously. We have to use real butter, real vanilla, fresh walnuts, and good raspberry jam. He was in a tizzy one Christmas season when we ran out of raspberry jam. I suggested some of my homemade plum or blackberry jam, but no, HAD to be raspberry jam ! Now I make sure to make a lot of raspberry jam from our own berry bushes. We can't be running out of raspberry jam at this time of the year.

I made a pot of peach tea and covered it with my Christmas tea cozy, marveling at how well the gold-rimmed , ivy intertwined with snowdrops pattern cup and saucer fits in with all our Christmas decorating. I am thinking of snipping a few sprigs of variegated ivy I have growing in a pot on the porch and using them for my Christmas table-setting.

Both my husband & I come from Norwegian American families. Our families shared a few beliefs and attitudes about this time of the year I discovered were not , as I had assumed, common to most families. Our families were very good at being "over the top " in celebrating Christmas without spending a lot of money. I found a book Keeping Christmas ~ Yuletide Traditions in Norway and the New Land by Kathleen Stokker , that is rich with the history & traditions of Norway from pagan to Christian times, and then onto the celebrations the immigrant Norwegians brought to America. Fascinating ! This history explains so much about our families' attitudes &expectations towards the Christmas season we still carry on, without having realized just how much our families' traditions & history affect us even today. Hospitality was always important , especially at this time of the year. 

"A veritable archive of Norwegian American character traits - the vital role of hospitality , equality ,evenhandedness in sharing hosting obligations, resourcefulness ,the ability to make one's own entertainment , a concern for aesthetics, and the attention recorded Christian piety- this custom embodies qualities still valued in Norwegian society." by Kathleen Stokker  Hospitality is always precious, and sharing tea and cookies with friends & family this time of the year and all year round are traditions and customs shared world-wide . Tea-Time Tuesdays have given me a glimpse of hospitality from all over the world through a tea-cup  !

Join these ladies to see how they celebrate all things tea :
Artful Affirmations with Terri *
Bernideen's tea time Blog *
Martha's Favorites *
Rose Chintz Cottage with Sandi *
Antiques & Teacups with Ruth *