Merry Christmas to my family and my readers!
It is almost unreal to remember the simplicity that we observed at Christmas of my younger years in comparison to the secular and inflated ways in contemporary society. Yes! We had a Christmas tree but it was never bought! My dad would invite us girls to get into the car and we drove out into the country where he had permission to find a tree and cut it down. He would expect us to find branches on the ground or he would cut some off other trees so that we could decorate the front door. My sister and I had already decorated the other windows with homemade snow. We had already sat on the floor making strings of colored paper to place on the tree. All of this happened just a week before Christmas.
People did not start so early. We only had one string of lights and sometimes they didn’t work. When Daddy finally got the tree centered in the living room, he would put the lights on the tree. Then he left the task of completing the decorating to us. Finally, the icicles were used to finish the tree. We had to constantly change the bulbs because when one bulb blew the whole string of lights went out.
Every year Mother had saved through the local bank all year a Christmas savings for each of us. It was worth $50.00. That was all we had to buy gifts for everyone. It seems like such a small amount but we were able to shop carefully and we placed our gifts under the tree. It was our custom to hang real stockings on Christmas Eve. Again, you might laugh, but the most expensive thing in our stockings was a fresh orange.
I could hardly wait for the night of Christmas Eve to end because I wanted to open my gifts. My favorite was a brand new coloring book and new crayons. We sat in the living room for a while. My Grandmother Rawson began insisting on eating a formal dinner so family time was cut short. I also have wonderful memories of singing carols and playing the piano. The only time I remembered my father singing was “Silent Night” as he sat in his chair in the dining room. Of course we went to church the night before and there was a Santa Claus parade. But the best time was just the feeling of being loved and secure in our small home. Nothing very fancy—popcorn, fudge, and hot cocoa. Loving each other did not cost anything. Playing games on the floor and listening to the radio—a time long ago, but so appreciated.
Maybe we should try to capture something other than extravagant current ways of celebrating the Nativity. I’m glad I knew a world that appreciated knowing how to be joyful with something money could not buy—family!!!❤️
