I have over 80 years worth of Christmas memories. To this day we still celebrate the birth of Jesus as recorded in the bible over 2,000 years ago. Gifts were given to the baby and we give gifts near and dear to our hearts.
Huge changes have also taken place in the past 80 years. Stores have been very busy with specials, making it easier to find the right item for those on your gift list. Coral groups sing the songs of Christmas, and the colors of Christmas seem to be everywhere.
We look forward to bringing out the same decorations and ornaments, and always fill in a few new items. I would like to share a few memories that really stand out.
My early Christmases took place during the deep depression. The gifts I received came from the church: an orange and a small box of candy. Those years where obviously very lean. Farming gives you little time to enjoy specials put on by many different groups as part of the season and. as you read this, you probably get the sense a big part of my life is missing.
My mother died of cancer when I was 14, and I immediately became my dads helper. My brother was 10 years older than me. He married young, and uncle Sam quickly took him into the navy to serve WWII. Keeping a farm was to much for my father so he sold it, and the new owners agreed to let me cut down a tree from the yard. I went back with my axe and saw, and cut down a small tree to bring back to my dad. That was the end of Christmas on the farm.
Once I was married and had a family, holiday celebrating took quite a turn. We tried to celebrate the season with the parental grandparents by driving to Onieda, New York to spend time with them. That was great until the year we could not drive through Buffalo, so we got four train tickets and headed to Syracuse. The train was packed with college students headed home for the holidays.
Another year we planned for my brother and sister in law to come to Erie and celebrate Christmas with us. They got to the airport and were sent to New Jersey for two days. When they could travel they went home, and it was four more months until they could celebrate Christmas with us again.
Our girls where quite small when the flu hit for Christmas. My husband had one couch and I had the other. If you can imagine, dinner for us was sharing a can of chicken noodle soup. The three girls, as little as they were, had to go to the refrigerator and find themselves something to eat. Thank goodness we felt better that night so we had a little Christmas fun.
When the girls left the nest we left also. My husband did not like the winter weather, so we would head to our little place in Florida for five or six months each year. Traveling south, we found that Christmas comes anywhere. We also found we could ride bikes, take rather long hikes, have cook outs, and watch the birds along the shore.
Yes, Christmas followed me wherever I went, leaving me with many wonderful memories.
