SIMPLE CHRISTMAS MEMORIES FROM A WISE WOMAN!

AUNT ELLEN SHARING HER LOVE OF READING WITH OUR SON KAI

Years ago a very dear woman—my Aunt Ellen—shared some remembrances of childhood Christmases with her family.  She was the oldest girl in the family and my mother was the youngest.  Every year at this time I read over again what she so graciously left behind. Here is her story:

“Our Christmas always centered around church and home.  Our mother, that busy woman with nine children to care for, always had time to tell us a bedtime story.  Many of the stories she told us were from the Bible so when we were very young we knew the story of Baby Jesus.  Christmas had real meaning for us as the birthday of the babe in the manger.

Christmas at home was celebrated with a Christmas tree.  Many of the trimmings we children had helped to make.  We popped corn and made plump strings of white kernels for the tree.  To add a little bright red we threaded cranberries and hung them on the tree.  There was some tinsel that was stored away from year to year.  We thought some artificial cherries were beautiful.  Our tree was lighted by tiny candles of different colors.  Only occasionally were the candles lighted and our parents watched very carefully while they were blazing.

There were always gifts under the tree but not extravagant ones.  I remember only two dolls which did not last too long under the rough treatment of a younger brother and his playmates.  However, we were very content with paper dolls.  When real paper dolls were not available, we were able to build up our paper families with Montgomery Ward catalogue cutouts.

An amusing memory of playing with paper dolls is that there was rivalry in announcing when we began to play, “My family is the richest in the world.”

We always hung our stockings on Christmas Eve and were well satisfied in the morning to find peanuts, candy, and an orange and an apple in them.

Our parents mostly gave us practical gifts—new dresses that Mama had made and knit mittens for the girls and mittens and socks for the boys.  But there was also some small toy or game that was especially desired.  The boys received balls and bats and even small pairs of skis.

As we grew older we always found books a part of our Christmas.  I can remember Mama sending one of us down to Kearns or Snitemans drugstores to buy a book for another member of the family.  I well remember the Christmas when one of us received ‘’His Official Fiancee” and the other “In Another Girl’s Shoe” and what a lovely afternoon of reading we had.  They thrilled our youthful romantic hearts.

Christmas was a time of doing for each other.  As we grew older we found little jobs like babysitting and doing small household chores for a busy mother, and the boys shoveled snow or mowed lawns.  It was such a joy to earn money and save for the gifts.  No matter how small the sum, it was divided for gifts for our parents and brothers and sisters.  What fun it was Christmas morning, and in the afternoon and evening there were books to read and games like Old Maid, Dominoes, Checkers, or Rook to play.

And the goodies to eat were so delicious and plentiful.  Our mother was a wonderful cook and nothing was too much to do for her children—popcorn balls, homemade cracker jacks, fudge and divinity (which she called foam), frosted cookies and luscious dark fruit cake.

There was always a roasted fowl for dinner.  Our father was partial to goose, so often it was a huge goose that we ate.  The stuffing was as good as the meat.  And there was mother’s wonderful homemade bread (there never was such bread and rolls as Mama made).

We had certain customs for the Christmas season.  Christmas night and New Year’s Day we always had oyster stew, made with milk, cream, and lots of butter.  In those days our father liked the oysters, but we loved the savory stew and the round oyster crackers that we dropped in it.  Sometimes during the holidays we had lutefisk and lefse for our Norwegian-Swedish father.

Papa always brought home a box of red Delicious apples for the holiday season, and what a treat it was when every evening he went down to the cellar and brought up for each of us a highly polished apple.  Mixed nuts—walnuts, filberts, and hazel nuts were fun to crack and eat.

THE MAMA AND PAPA ELLEN SPOKE OF (MY GRANDPARENTS)

What rich memories we have.  Although our parents are gone, the values they taught us, we continue in our own homes.  And so the Christmas tradition follows through from generation to generation.”

ELLEN WITH ONE OF MANY SCHOOL CHILDREN SHE CARED SO MUCH ABOUT.

Many years have passed since my Aunt Ellen wrote about those wonderful Christmas memories. Sadly, she and all her brothers and sisters, including my mother, have passed on, but I will always be grateful to her for leaving a part of her family history behind.  Years ago I sent her a book at Christmas time that she delighted in called A CUP OF CHRISTMAS TEA.  It’s about a nephew who goes to visit an aunt who’d had a stroke, but finds that although her body is diminished, her spirit is alive and well.  He didn’t want to go originally, but in the end he said, “I sat alone with feelings that I hadn’t felt in years.  I saw a Christmas miracle. . .the triumph of a soul.” The cup of Christmas tea they shared signified so much more.  My Aunt Ellen was the embodiment of the Christmas spirit, always caring, always sharing, and ALWAYS finding the good in people.  I miss her more than ever, but she’ll always be a part of every Christmas I experience.