A Memory of Christmas Past

We all have Christmases that we remember as special or unusual. The first memorable Christmas in my memory bank was about age nine. I’m not sure why the family finances were leaner that year. It could have been because we had moved to a farm that we would eventually own—214 acres plentifully covered with cedar trees.

Maybe we should have sold Christmas trees that first year, but I just remember Mom telling us not to expect too much for Christmas. I have no clue what my little brother asked for, but I really wanted a pair of bobby sox with some sort of pebbly cuff as I recall.

Christmas morning came and I got my special pair of bobby sox. We had plenty of Christmas goodies as Mom was a good cook and baker. And I think that was the year my Great-aunt Anna gave me the dollhouse. These days I think the Antiques Road Show folks would call that dollhouse folk art.  It was (is) a 2-story house complete with curtains, furniture, and a family of four, thanks to my grandparents. My aunt had asked a neighboring farmer to construct the house for her and she painted it and made the curtains, painted the interior walls as well as the floors.

 

 My brother and I got many hours of pleasure from the little house as did a myriad of children who visited my parents’ home long after I had grown up and moved away. The dollhouse moved west to my home when Mom sold the house and farm after Dad died.

For a time it perched above our fireplace but I decided it needed to be more accessible to little hands with imaginations. It was moved to our piano bench one Thanksgiving and amused two little 1^st graders for several hours. It’s residing in our guest bedroom right now so that it can be easily transported. Any time a little one comes to visit, the dollhouse comes out and a child’s imagination takes over. The furniture has suffered over the years as have the doll family, but isn’t that actually a picture of life?

Thanks, Aunt Anna. Your gift one Christmas Day has kept giving for many, many years.

Tradition—Not

 Christmas carols, Christmas cards, Christmas gifts, Christmas cards, Christmas trees, Christmas cards…

Many years ago I discovered my stress level increased incrementally a day or so after Thanksgiving and didn’t subside until our Christmas cards were all signed, addressed, stamped AND included a personal note.

I know, I brought it all on myself. But having attended 3 colleges, taught school in two widely separated states, married and moved half a continent away from my family, I wanted to stay in contact with the many friends who had marched across my life in a meaningful manner.

That particular Christmas I realized my Christmas Spirit had fled and something really nasty had replaced it. That was when I gratefully latched on to a friend’s chance (??) remark. Why not send my annual letters in Easter cards? I decided that would be my last frantic Yuletide as far as Christmas cards were concerned. The next Easter I sent cards to all those on my list with a short note about my future plans concerning Christmas cards.

The next Christmas the freedom was amazing. I must admit I felt just a bit guilty as the Christmas cards came to us. But when I realized the “Christmas Grinch” had disappeared from our household, the guilty feelings vanished.

The following Easter was a unique experience because there was ample time to review the past year for the benefit of far-away friends. Succeeding Easters have evolved into special times of reminiscence as I re-read their Christmas letters and notes from the past year. It seems doubly appropriate to renew old ties as the Earth witnesses the rebirth of Nature’s life cycle and Christendom celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the new life He offers.

Through the years I have seen annual letters arrive as Valentines, New Year’s letters, 4^th of July letters and Thanksgiving letters, but I don’t remember any Easter annual letters (although we have received Easter cards in return—remember that guilt reflex I mentioned earlier).

Maybe the idea has never caught on because Easter cards don’t go on sale!