Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noёl! Feliz Navidad! Happy Holidays!

Another Christmas Day is here filled with excitement and expectations. Just like birthdays, each Christmas reminds me of how quickly life goes by and I take a few moments to remember Christmas Days past.

Advent Calendar

Christmas of my childhood began in November when the house was made bare. This entailed pictures being removed from the walls and ornaments packed away. It meant shopping for fabric to recover the cushions of the heavy mahogany settee and two chairs; material for new curtains; oilskin by the yard for the kitchen table; Christmas cards chosen specifically to Mummy and Daddy or Aunt or Uncle or Across the Miles at Christmastime to those relatives overseas. Everything in the china cabinet was taken out to be washed. It was a time of receiving cards with English pounds or American or Canadian dollars or money orders from relatives in those countries or waiting to see those relatives fortunate enough to be back home for a Christmas holiday. It was a time of sewing, baking, shopping for the perfect ham, new shoes (usually patent leather made extra shiny with Vaseline), a newly sewn dress and just a time of excitement. It was a time of painting the house and weeding and trimming the front yard. It was a time of scrubbing the floors on your knees, no fancy gadgets then except if you considered a scrubbing brush as fancy.

Christmas Eve would be spent baking, cooking the ham, seasoning the meats, stuffing cushions into new covers, putting the china and glassware back into the cabinet, the pictures on the walls and the ornaments back in their place, decorating the Christmas tree, tying balloons in the windows as part of the decorations, making the beds with fresh linen and when this was all done, there was still church to attend and parcels of ham and baked goods prepared by my mother to be delivered to the older people in our area who lived alone and no longer did such preparations for themselves.

On Christmas morning, the house was transformed inside and out. The day’s cooking would be on the way and not just a family meal; there had to be enough food and drink (hard and soft) to satiate those who dropped by.  Unlike now where children receive many gifts, back then you may receive one gift but the excitement was in the preparation, leading up the Christmas Day. Maybe it was stressful for the adults but everyone appeared to be happy and looked forward to visits and visiting others.

I look back at the Christmas Days of my childhood with fond memories but I especially appreciate the Christmas Days when my three daughters were little. Their wonder leading up to Christmas at various stages from writing their Christmas lists to Santa, taking part in the Christmas pageant, singing in the Children’s choir to now, as adults. I still put out the Advent Calendar from their childhood and watch as the middle child, Leah, and the youngest, Sharon, excitedly move the mouse ahead when they visit and then text each other to brag about it. For some reason, Tracey, the eldest, never got into this battle; smart girl:) She’s already here but from the photo above, the mouse is still at Day 18. He will be moved to Day 24 later for sure but by whom? That depends on who arrives first; Leah or Sharon.

The girls come home for Christmas and I enjoy making a big feast. Eventually they may wish to spend Christmas in their own homes with their family and have others over or with a sister and her family or travel. They will start to develop traditions that bring them joy and I will be happy for them.

Christmas is a time of happiness, wonderment and memories, some of them bittersweet.  Let’s raise a glass to family, friends, those no longer with us but who will forever be part of our memories and enjoy the day.

Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noёl! Feliz Navidad! Happy Holidays!

Will keep you posted.