Navidad

Navidad is a recurring family occasion in Alice Gould’s account: after her father’s death, she keeps up his Christmas tradition by sending greetings to his younger brother, Harold, despite never having met him in person. The holiday carries a connection across generations and distance, sustained through a simple annual message.

A Family Tradition

Alice explains that her father and Harold, who lives in California, exchanged Christmas greetings. Though the brothers saw each other as adults only once, by chance, and got drunk together, their correspondence continued at Christmas. After her father died, Alice took up the custom herself, preserving a link to an uncle she knows only through this inherited practice.

Recurrence and Continuity

The exchange gives Navidad a specific meaning in Alice’s family: it is not merely a date on the calendar but the occasion when a relationship is renewed through a repeated gesture. Alice’s annual greeting carries the tradition forward even without personal acquaintance with Harold, making the holiday a modest form of continuity after her father’s death.