This is one of the stories from my past. The footprints of some 50 odd years has done little to erase these memories. Back when I was a serious blogger, I’d post this every year or so and now I thought I'd share it with everyone here:
Whenever I feel down or, lonely at Christmas time, I remember back to this special day. This picture was with "One of them new-fangled color cameras" that my Grandma hated:
When I was a young boy, our family was terribly poor. I was too little to remember all the reasons why, but I do know that there was not enough money to go around. And Christmas was no exception. I can remember those days well.
One Christmas stands out in my memory above all others. The entire family had gathered together to have one Christmas dinner to cut expenses. In the corner of the living room was the Christmas tree, a cedar cut from the hillside pasture. It was already partially decorated by Mother Nature with little berries that helped give it a strong smell.
Our decorations were popcorn strings made by pushing a needle and thread through popcorn. The strings had to be handled carefully or they would break and strew popcorn all over the floor. We also had paper chains to put on the tree, made by cutting up old Sears and Montgomery Ward catalogs with the paper links pasted together with flour paste. The sticky flour paste got all over our hands, faces, and clothes. I wonder why they didn’t put sugar in it! With cream it could also have been served for mush!
I do not remember any presents under the tree. Under the tree were popcorn balls made with strong, homemade molasses. When we bit into the popcorn balls, it felt like they were biting back. On Christmas Eve we all gathered around the woodstove, enjoying the warm comfort of the fire and the pleasant aroma of the burning cedar wood. One of my uncles gave the opening prayer. We sang carols and hymns. One of our aunts read of the birth of Jesus and of the “good tidings of great joy” (Luke 2:10). “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). My Grandmother then told us how much she loved us.
The next day was Christmas, and we had a glorious dinner. But before we ate, we all got down on our knees for family prayer. I was so hungry. Grandma would pray for the longest time. One of my brothers became restless and gave me an irreverent goose, hoping that I would leap and shout to make things more exciting. For dinner we had a huge tom turkey stuffed with delicious dressing. No Stove Top Stuffing back then, everything was home made.
There was no celery in the dressing because we had only the ingredients that could be afforded or grew in the garden. But the dressing had plenty of bread, sage, sausage, and onions. There was an abundance of potatoes and gravy and pickles, beets, beans, and corn. There was always fresh baked bread. To stretch the food, we were encouraged to take one bite of bread for every bite of other kinds of food. We had blackberry jelly and cherry jam. For dessert we had pumpkin and apple pie. It was all delicious. My Grandma could make the best pies. Somehow with nothing to work with.
As I look back on that special Christmas over a lifetime, the most memorable part was that we did not think about presents. There may have been some handmade mittens or a scarf given, but I do not recall any presents. Presents are wonderful, but I found that they are not essential to our happiness. I could not have been happier. There were no presents that could be held and fondled and played with, but there were many wonderful gifts that could not be seen but could be felt.
There was the gift of boundless love. We knew God loved us. We all loved each other. We did not miss the presents because we had all these glorious gifts. It made me feel so wonderful and secure to belong and to be part of all that went on. We wanted nothing else. We did not miss the presents at all. I never remember a happier Christmas in my childhood. We all enjoy giving and receiving presents. But there is a difference between presents and gifts. The true gifts may be part of ourselves—giving of the riches of the heart and mind—and therefore more enduring and of far greater worth than presents bought at the store. I'm glad I can share some of this with you and may you all have a Joyous Christmas!
No comments:
Post a Comment