Christmas Memories

In the most recent episode of one of my favourite podcasts, Stitch It, Meghan shared some of her own holiday memories.  It got me going down my own memory lane and I thought I'd share some of my musings here for others to enjoy as well as to record for posterity.  I hope others will share their memories too because I'd love to read them.  Please post a link in my comments if you do so.

One of my first memories of Christmas is my Dad reading my sister and I that great classic, "The Night Before Christmas" on Christmas eve. It would really get us in the spirit and have us even more excited about waking up the next morning.  Of course we would have already written our letters to Santa (and heard them read to him on the local radio station) and visited him when he came to town.  Santa's arrival was a big thing in those days, in a small town in the Seventies before the abundance of mall Santas that are in existence today.  We got to see the real Santa, not an impostor!  I also remember the excitement of Christmas eve, wondering where in the world Santa was at any given moment.  Before bedtime, we would leave out a snack for Santa.  Keep in my mind that my Dad is a wine lover of Ukrainian descent.  Our Santa snack was garlic sausage and a glass of wine!

Once my sister and I were of school age, there were more opportunities to welcome the holidays.  The event that to me heralded the arrival of the Christmas season was the annual PTA Carol Sing.  This big event included participation from what seemed to me as a child to include the whole small town where we lived.  Each school choir would come and sing, there were lots of carols that everyone was able to sing along to, and just a general festive atmoshpere.  It was held at a lovely old theatre in our town that had a balcony, a big stage, and lots of seating.  I think the setting added to the enjoyment as well.  There was also the annual school Christmas concert.  I remember that it actually seemed quite exciting to be at school when it was dark outside, and there was always fun things to keep us occupied in our classroom while we waited our turn to perform.

A final memory from childhood involves Santa.  I'm not sure how old I would have been at the time, but I was of an age that I was beginning to question Santa's existence.  Of course all the adults around me said that yes indeed, there was a Santa, but I wasn't quite sure if I could believe them.  Then one Christmas day we were visiting with our neighbours.  I expressed my skepticism about Santa.  My neighbour friend Debbie, who was five years older than me stated that she heard Santa on the roof the previous night.  Well she was still kind of a kid, so therefore had way more credibility than the grown-ups!  After that, I knew that Santa was indeed real.

Well I could go on and on about my favourite Christmas memories, but I'd better stop here. The star you see pictured is the same star that has topped our tree since my sister and I were little.

I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas.  I hope this will be a time of many lasting memories and traditions, no matter what festivity you celebrate.

Comments

[Uli]

I took you up on it and wrote about some of our traditions.
http://www.creationsbyuli.ca/creativecorner/

[melissa]

enjoyed reading about your holiday memories!
love the tree topper too!

hope your dad's recovery is going well.
best wishes to you and your family for a happy christmas!

[Shannon B]

Lovely tree topper Brenda. I would like to hear more about your Christmas memories!

Merry Christmas.
XO
Shannon

[Gillian]

Our Santa snack was sherry with cheese and crackers. And in our house, it was a good cheese, aged Cheddar, Stilton or Wensleydale, generally.