As a child, my sisters and I always left milk and cookies out for Santa on Christmas Eve. But my favorite part of the tradition was that we’d leave a carrot out for Rudolph, too. And on Christmas morning, we always were delighted to find that carrot partially chewed somewhere in our backyard. Looking back on this memory, it warms my heart. But it also leaves me confused. Why, after all, did it never occur to me that:
1. Rudolph would have been tethered up to Santa’s sleigh and unable to wander freely in our yard to chew on carrots.
2. I never cared enough about Santa’s other reindeer to leave them a treat, only further singling out the red-nosed creature.
3. One of my parents had to chew up a carrot and throw it on the ground for us to find and happily carry around the next morning … and this thought never creeped me out.
Do you have a Christmas Eve tradition of leaving out treats for the holiday visitors?
Posted by Lori O’Toole Buselt