“For Christmas is tradition time— Traditions that recall The precious memories down the years, The sameness of them all.”
At least it is not raining now, and it is warm. Last night I could hear the rain pound the roof. Earlier I could hear drops hitting the floor. Given my luck of late I thought it was the roof, but nope, it was from the top of the outside storm door in the back. I just shut the door. Problem solved.
The wrapping paper and some gifts are now downstairs. When I finish Coffee, I’ll start wrapping. The race to Christmas is now a sprint.
Christmas is a time for memories, for traditions and for sentiment. Some of my trees decorations are ornaments from my childhood trees. My mother gave each of us a box of them. I cherish each one. Other ornaments are from my travels. They are filled with the memories of the places I’ve been. One of my favorites is a tassel from Morocco where Christmas is not celebrated. The tassel is orange. Pinocchio is from Italy. King Henry, a cloth ornament, is, of course, from England. Ghana is well represented.
When I was a kid, my parish always had a Christmas fair. It was at the town hall. My mother would give us money to spend on gifts and lunch. There was always a table with small gifts costing a quarter or even less. I remember embroidered handkerchiefs. I think I bought my mother one a few years in a row. Small bottles of not so great smelling perfume were also on the table. I think the bottles came from Woolworth’s. My sister bought my mother a Christmas cactus. She used to keep at the end of the kitchen table by the window. It grew to be enormous, and it flowered every year. When people admired all the flowers , my mother would tell them how old the plant was and that it had been a gift from my sister years ago. It is still alive.
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December 10, 2019 at 2:49 pm
Two weeks until Christmas Eve and Mrs MDH’s gifts are pretty much under control. Awaiting for one more UPS delivery, wrap the bugger and then shut it down until the big day
Each morning we alternate through the doors of the Advent Box, and so far i have not received the ubiquitous Tide Stick, Chap Stick or Tic Tacs.
Armed with our own cash, my sisters and i would head out together to buy the gifts that were needed with our focus being primarily on our Mother. We were always full excitement to identify something that we were certain that she would enjoy.
As the years moved in to our early teens so our gifts shifted from embroidered hankies and metal puzzles to a pound note or two. At the end of the Christmas period we could be very young with the extraordinary wealth of 10 pounds in our pockets. Of course the shops were closed for endless days which frustrated the tendency to go bezerk and unload it all on stuff we marginally wanted.
December 10, 2019 at 5:33 pm
My Dear Hedley,
I I have been wrapping all afternoon. I still have six more bags to finish. I need to get them out on Thursday so they’ll get to Colorado in time for Christmas. Some clothes have been ordered for my nieces kids, but they are going directly to Colorado. I won’t start wrapping the local stuff until the weekend.
I open an advent calendar every morning. it is fun to poke open the little doors.
I think I gave my father white handkerchiefs every year, but he appreciated them. He always carried one in his back pocket, and used it. My mother even ironed them for him.
I loved shopping for my mother’s gifts. My father was more difficult. He said he didn’t want a thing, but I ignored him. Now I have a sister who says the same hing.
December 10, 2019 at 5:37 pm
I was at a nearby church Christmas fair last Sunday, a nice destination for a short bike trip I thought. It was very small, just a few tables with gifts. The main event was eating cake and bratwurst and mostly old people were there. Some other churches still have Christmas fairs too but I think it’s a dying tradition. I skipped the food, bought a home-brewed liqueur as a gift and left. The Christmas market downtown is changing too, it looks like there are more food stands than handicraft now. Too crowded and noisy for me so I try to avoid it.
December 11, 2019 at 10:10 am
Birgit,
I used to plan out my Saturday of church fairs. I’d start down cape and go up from town to town. Old ladies were the stalwarts of the fairs who made many of the gifts on sale. The knit table was one of my first stops. I used to buy mittens for all the grands. I’d also have lunch at a fair.
I haven’t been to one in a long while, but I’m willing to bet it is the same as with yours.