One family tradition that is constant is making cookies every Christmas. This family tradition started when my dad was a little boy. My grandma first found the recipe in a magazine and we have a photocopy of it from Family Circle December 1976.  The cookies are a three colored cookie called Venetians.  The magazine says they are tiny layered cake-cookies, striped like Venetian glass, and they are very delicious. I also heard they are called Italian Flag cookies, the layers of the cookies are the same color as the Italian Flag.  My dad used to make this recipe with my grandma and his siblings.  My mom makes them, but my Aunt Vic’s are better (don’t tell my Mom).  We start making them about one week before Christmas.  We like to make enough for our friends, family, and neighbors. They take some time to make, but they are worth it.   While we bake, we listen to Christmas music and my Dad tells us stories about his mother, my grandmother. My grandmother died about nine years ago so it helps me to remember her when I hear his stories. I recall making them with her once or twice and she loved to bake and cook for her family. To sum it all up, I am including the recipe with this story in hopes that whoever reads this will make them and add my tradition to theirs.

– JHA

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