Carnations From Cliff- A Holiday Tradition

For many of us, December is a month when we vividly recall cherished, heartwarming memories, which frequently are of our childhood, family, friends or traditions. Some of these recollections might center on meals spent together with loved ones around a holiday table, or perhaps of an impromptu snowball fight with cousins and siblings, if having grown up in a northern climate. Other reminiscences may remind us of the crisp, cold, quiet of a starry winter’s night or possibly of an annual December event, marking the beginning of the holiday season. For me, when I reflect upon this time of year, I always remember delivering carnations from our family farm.

We celebrated Christmas in the Hughes family home, and these flowers were the pride of our little farm. Their reds, whites, and soft pinks bloomed bravely in the glass greenhouse, valiantly defying the biting cold. Every December, we would tap a long wooden crate and say, “Time to bring Christmas to the Wayside Inn.” And off we’d go to the Longfellow’s Wayside Inn in Sudbury, a place that felt older and wiser than anyone I knew.

I carried those carnations as if they were treasures. Their clean, sweet scent mixed with the Inn’s woodsmoke the moment we stepped inside. The staff would smile, always saying the same thing, “Your flowers mean the Holidays have begun.” And every year, those words made me stand a little taller.

We tucked carnations on windowsills, arranged them on worn tabletops, and brightened the old mantel with their winter colors. I loved imagining who might see them- a family at Christmas dinner, a couple by the fire, a traveler far from home.

When we walked back outside, often into an early evening snow with the soft light from the Inn glowing behind us, I felt a warmth that had nothing to do with the fire inside. It was the feeling of giving something small but full, from our hearts.

Even now, whenever I see a carnation in December, I’m right back there- young, proud, and carrying Christmas in my hands.

This year, Cliff invited our residents to join him at The Wayside Inn for a holiday lunch. He brought with him a carnation for each resident which carried with it the same heartfelt meaning, a simple flower, offered with love, sparking festive warmth all around.

Watch a video recap of our holiday lunch.