Hey y'all!
You think of Rosie on the House as the most popular home-improvement radio show in Arizona.
For me, Rosie on the House means something much more literal.
For the six kids who grew up in Rosie’s house, Christmas officially
began on the Eve with the reading of a Cajun Night Before Christmas,
because you know, chere, dem dere flyin' reindeer what you call dem, dey
can't fly low through dem cypress kness and Spanish moss, no! Who
better to share that story with y'all than my grandpartners, Baby Kay
and Dr. Rosie? Here’s an audio recording.
Just click the following link to play
Cajun Night Before Christmas!
*Originally aired on Rosie on the House Christmas Eve 2005.
Shortly
after the reading and our second glass of Southern eggnog is when we’d
hear Santa Claus on the roof of our Scottsdale home, stomping around in
his big, black, cowboy boots, jingling a string of holiday bells and
shouting, in a curiously familiar Cajun accent, “Ho, ho, ho!” into the
chimney so we’d be sure to hear him as he unloaded our presents from his
sleigh.
We were always already tucked into our beds,
eyes wide open, hoping that our parents, Rosie and Jennifer, had been
wrong when they warned us that Santa never entered the homes of boys and
girls who weren’t asleep.
That stompin’ Santa, of
course, had Rosie cheeks and a big Rosie voice. And he really did climb
up onto the roof every Christmas Eve yelling, “Ho, ho, ho!” to get us
kids to go to sleep.
We didn’t. Once the noise trailed
off, we raced to the Christmas tree to see what he left. We were up so
early, in fact, that our parents had to make a rule: We couldn’t wake
them until 5 a.m. — and we had to have the coffee ready when we did.
Then we unwrapped our toys and gag gifts before chowing down on what we’ve always called a
“Joe” breakfast — a skillet of potatoes, onions, eggs, bacon and
cheese, watching whichever movie Santa had left us that year and taking a
nap. Then it was off to Mama Kay and Papa Rosie’s house, where we
spent the rest of Christmas with aunts, uncles and cousins — sometimes
30 or more of us gathered for the day — and more presents and food and
singing with Uncle Pierre playing Linus & Lucy from A Charlie
Brown Christmas on the piano complimented by the rest of the great
family pianists including Aunt Karen and Baby Kay herself!
Like
all family Christmases, ours has changed as we’ve gotten older,
welcomed new family members and said a sad goodbye to others. But the
memories are so crisp, and our traditions — food, music, family — all
remain.
I’d like to share some of our Romero family
Christmas traditions with you. Starting first with some of my favorite
Christmas songs always heard around the holidays...If you are like my
sister Rachael, you stared listening to Christmas music back in
August...
Artist -> Album -> Favorite Song on Album
Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers ->
Once Upon a Christmas -> Once Upon a Christmas
Elvis Presley ->
Elvis Christmas -> O Come, All Ye Faithful
Amy Grant ->
A Christmas Album -> Heirlooms
Vince Guaraldi Trio ->
A Charlie Brown Christmas -> Linus & Lucy
Alabama ->
Christmas Volume I -> Christmas in Dixie &
Volume II -> Little Drummer Boy
Alan Jackson ->
Let it Be Christmas -> Let it Be Christmas
The Carpenters ->
Christmas Portrait -> Carol of the Bells
The Nutcracker ->
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra -> Waltz of the Flowers
And what would a Romero Christmas be without some good pecans? By popular demand, here’s Mama Kay’s recipe for her
famous Cajun-spiced, roasted pecans,
along with
Rosie's Buttermilk Biscuits and the family secrets on
deep-fried turkeys! But make sure you read the safety tips for
deep-frying your Christmas turkey first!
I
hope your holidays will bring back warm memories for you, too, and that
you’ll put a little Cajun spice in this year’s celebration!
Sincerely,
Rosie on the House
www.RosieOnTheHouse.com
Tune in your Radio every Saturday morning!
Call in Number (888) Rosie-4-U
~Arizona's Favorite Most Trusted Home Improvement Resource!
~Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!
