When Grandma was a little girl--recollections

When Grandma was a little girl—what was Christmas was like?

Last year an older sister in my ward gave a talk about what her childhood Christmas’ consisted. It gave me an idea today to write about what I remember about my own. The holiday season was the era when we still had live green pine trees and decorated. Later, when I was a teenager, the aluminum silver Christmas tree was introduced and we had one for years, before silk Christmas trees. Artificial is what they were called then.

My mother had taken a picture of me one year of me holding the decorated tree outside in Texas, in March! Yes, she had kept the tree up that long! It may have been our last Christmas in San Antonio. We left in mid-March when Martha, my sister was six months old. Mom did keep her tree up longer other years too as I recall.

Twas the night before Christmas. . .

Our celebration was about gift giving on a very small scale. Nothing was elaborate. We even had been known to put fake empty wrapped boxes under the tree. I cringe now just thinking about that for some reason. We decorated our tree with those shiny glass colored ornaments of red, blue, green, silver and gold. There was some traditional garland and in those days we put “tinsel” on the tree with a lighted star on top. We had colored strings of lights like the coveted “retro” lights of today. This was long before those ‘mini’ sets of lights came out. We bought tinsel in flat boxes with strings of silver aluminum looking strings of silver. It was supposed to give the effect of icicles I believe. The streams of tinsel were actually made of cellophane, a man made product and covered with silver coating. Then when we would un-decorate the tree, all that would be left on it was the tinsel. It would go out into the trash with only the tinsel hanging on it.

In hopes that St. Nicholas would soon be there!

We did have Christmas stockings, and we usually had that old hard candy that was filled with jelly inside so sugary it could rot your teeth if you didn’t brush them. They also put walnuts, pecans, filberts, and almond-- all in the shells in the red mesh looking Christmas stockings. There also was a fresh orange or tangerine.

This tradition of the nuts, candy and fresh oranges or tangerines must be a tradition from the “Depression” years when things were scarce with not a lot of extras. Oh, I can’t forget the candy canes! We seemed to only have peppermint flavored candy at Christmas time. You always had more peppermint that you could really enjoy. I really didn’t miss peppermint candy during the rest of the year!

I usually received only one gift from my parents as I grew up. It would be a doll, or some kind of toy, or what I really needed. I remember when I was about five, maybe six years old we lived in Chicago. We went to see Santa Claus at a department store like Dillard’s. We got in line to see him and waited just like kids do now. That year I got doll house furniture so, I must have had a doll house to put them in.

Shopping in the “dime” stores was tradition for our family. We didn’t ever shop at the bigger department stores like where Santa Claus was. We could by things cheaper at the “dime” store, like F.W. Woolworth’s, or Kresge’s with Christmas music played in all the stores. I recall when the new song came out, “I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.” It was recorded by a young teenager, by the name of Jimmy Boyd. I saw him sing it on Arthur Godfrey’s show. Kind of like Regis Philbin’s type of show, it was one my mother watched everyday. The year that song came out was early 1950s. So that song was out just barely as I was growing up. I grew up listening to Gene Autry singing, the Christmas song, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” and “Frosty, the Snowman” He was a country singer, but I didn’t know that at the time.

I just remembered something about those red mesh Christmas stockings. My Dad was a Mason and Shriner. These two organizations are somehow related. Nevertheless, each Christmas he would take us to a Christmas program put on by the Shriners. They gave each of us children a stocking from Santa and a wrapped gift. I think now that I must have received the doll furniture one of these times as I do not recall every having a doll house in my toy box. I never asked my Dad about this and I guess it doesn't really matter now. It is just a faded memory.

Throughout the years I have attempted to make Christmas a special time for my children. The child in me always felt there was MORE to what it was all about, from the gift giving, sharing, serving those less fortunate and being the less fortunate. I count my many blessings for the abundant life I have enjoyed, and I am not talking about material wealth here.

Personally the time with my family means more than all the tinsel and holly. So when we gather for our annual family reunions, I approach it as if it was Christmas-- the giving part and expect nothing in return. That is what makes it so exciting for me, to give and not worry about the rest. I pray some of my posterity understands and knows in their hearts how much you all mean to me and what I am about in all of this to preserve traditions and memories.

A special thank you to all of you for the lovely gift— of my own digital camera you gave me for Christmas. Feliz Navidad!!

God bless us everyone with the Magic of Christmas Day!!!!!

I LOVE YOU--Mom