One of my traditions at Christmas is a little glass of aquavit. The good stuff is Linie aquavit, which supposedly gets shipped south of the equator and back before it leaves Norway for sale. You can drink it as a shot, but honestly I prefer to sip it--though it is properly served ice cold, so that it thickens up a little bit, and the stem glass is so that your hand doesn't warm it as you drink.

My grandmother used to always serve this at Christmas. She died many years ago--quite suddenly, of a heart attack, which is how she always wanted to go. She hated hospitals, and wouldn't have wanted to be stuck in one.

She was also a force of nature. Always mangled turkeys (she once cooked a turkey that I cut my lip trying to eat), but was scary smart.

When I was struggling in school (ADHD), she stepped up to tutor me. She had an amazing sense of humour. She was amazing at Scrabble.

I miss her terribly, but when I have a glass of aquavit at Christmas I think of her, and can almost hear her laugh.

So yes, every Christmas I sip a glass of aquavit, and reminisce.