The big day is Friday, and if you're anything like me, at this point in the season,

you're feeling like you wish you could slow down time and make it all last just a little bit

longer. A bit more time for movies and TV specials, a bit more time where it's okay to

consume lots of cookies and eggnog, a bit more time for carols and drives through those neighborhoods where all the impressive light displays are.

A bit more time for baking, and shopping, and wrapping, and yes, making Christmas memories.

Now, even though the season is winding down, there's still a lot more Christmas past ready to hit your podcast feed between now and the big day,

including one more episode like today's episode, dedicated just to you and your Christmas memories.

That one will arrive on Christmas Eve, the perfect day for reminiscing about Christmas past.

There isn't much time, but there is just enough time if you want to be part of it. You'll have to act fast, but I'll do my very best to accommodate everyone who sends something by the end of the day, California time, on the 23rd. Just record a voice memo into your phone and send it to Christmas Past podcast at gmail.com. As always, just try to keep it reasonably short, clean and family-friendly, and be sure

to say your name and where you're from. Well, now, let's crank up the Christmas spirit and get

this episode underway. I just mentioned baking, which of course is one of the best things about

Christmas. The fun of creating and being together, of sharing, and of course eating, and made all the more

special by the fact of baking special things that come but once a year and by passing

treasured family recipes down the generations, like Lenka in Belgium is looking forward to doing.

Hi, my name is Lenka. I'm from the Czech Republic, now living in Belgium. In the Czech Republic, we have this tradition of baking Christmas cookies.

They are not the traditional American Christmas cookies.

We call them Vannochin Tsukroviy.

And it's rather Christmas sweets, because you have plenty of different doughs, fillings and shapes.

So you end up with vanilla rolls, rump balls, beehives, bear paws,

and many more. And each family has to bake several, let's say, 10 types of these Christmas

cookies and about 100 pieces per each type. So it takes plenty of time. Every year, my mom, my sisters and me, we were gathering around this huge round table and making

this Christmas cookies.

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