It's December 9. That leaves only a short time until Christmas eve, a time of various Christian traditions. My family's tradition, which I still try to follow despite being utterly and completely devoid of Christian beliefs, is to have pork & jalapeño tamales and chile con queso on Christmas eve. An accompaniment of good cold Mexican beer is not required, but highly recommended.
I know of a place I can buy the requisite tamales, though tamales are better if purchased from a wizened old Mexican lady who has been making them for sixty years and has perfected the recipe beyond anything a mass-market producer can ever accomplish. I'll have to be satisfied with the mass-produced variety this year.
Speaking of tradition, several years ago my wife got a Christmas card from a co-worker. If memory serves me well, the front of the card had a cartoon figure of a guy tied up above a roaring fire. He had a look of alarm on his face. Musical notes were printed all over the cover, along with the words, "Jack Frost roasting over an open fire..." Inside, more musical notes and the words, "Chestnuts nipping at your nose..." I don't recall the image inside, but assume it was another cartoon image of someone whose nose was being nipped at by...chestnuts. I'd like to find that card and use it every year as my signature greetings of the season. I just liked it.
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