Memories of Christmas Past

This time of year I always find myself reflecting on Christmases of my youth.  I remember it being such a magical time for me.  Yes, at one time I even believed in Santa Claus and knew some of the presents under the tree were from him; this of course was because my parents and I assume my older siblings were good at being sneaky and covert.  I remember being awestruck at all the toys in the toy department and sitting on Santa's lap at Freedlander's department store in Wooster, Ohio.  Sadly Freedlander's has long since closed its doors and given way to the malls, WalMarts and other big box stores and online retailers.  I have vivid memories of walking out onto the little balcony from my parents' bedroom that overlooked the living room and putting the star on top of the large tree we'd get every year.  That was when we lived in the big stone house on the golf course in Millersburg.  The living room ceiling seemed to me to be five stories tall.  Of course it wasn't really.  I had the opportunity as an adult to visit that house and was shocked to find out how much smaller the rooms felt.  The doors to that little Juliet balcony only came up to my knees, but as a small child I could walk right through them with room to spare.  It's hard to believe I was once that small but it's true.  Those were the days when Christmas was an event not to be missed.  Older siblings came home for the holidays and our house was the place to be.  Christmas breakfast was a long held tradition in our family and dad was always in charge of making the waffles in an old cast iron waffle iron that looked like a medieval torture device.  We'd also have this special smoked sausage my folks always got from a local butcher shop; boy, they don't have many of those left anymore.  We always had to wait until after breakfast to open our presents and the suspense killed me.  The opening of gifts was an organized affair where someone was chosen to play Santa and hand out one gift at a time to each person; we'd then open our presents all together and show them off to each other.  This process continued until there were no more gifts left wrapped under the tree and we'd all proceed to play with our new toys.

Later on in my family, through my adolescent years, Christmas became something I actively participated in as far as planning and preparations.  I always got to decorate the outside of the house with various light displays, a huge lit up santa face, flood lights, and whatever else I could think of.  It was always fun to put up the decorations and I enjoyed helping mom and dad trim the tree with the ornaments they had collected over the years.  Tinsel was always a touchy subject with my folks.  I always loved the icicle tinsel that would get draped over the branches but my parents hated it because the strands would find their way to other places and get all over everything.  Sometimes we used an artificial tree and there were no icicles allowed; but when we had a real tree they would capitulate and I could go nuts with the tinsel.  I remember well the choice words dad would use while trying to untangle christmas lights for the tree that had been basically balled up for storage.  There was always frustration when a string wouldn't work because one of the bulbs was out.  Those were the days when one burned out bulb ruined the whole string and you had to test each one to find the culprit so they would all light up.  The tradition of Christmas breakfast and gift opening continued, though I didn't believe in Santa anymore.  I was now in on the secret and got to wrap gifts from Santa for my growing number of nieces and nephews who still believed.   Once it got down to just Sue and I at home we started a tradition of opening one gift on Christmas Eve after the candlelight service at the Methodist Church, usually when it was just us as the rest of the family wouldn't descend on the household until Christmas morning.  We had certain treats around the holidays as well that were legendary.  Mom would make seven layer cookies and peanut butter fudge that was down right scrumptious.  Christmas cookies from Norman's bakery were always on hand and dad always loved the peppermint stick ice cream from Goshen Dairy.  I remember chex party mix being made in the roaster, and when that was done mom would typically fill it back up with her homemade vegetable soup which often served as a late lunch or dinner.  While our family doesn't gather as one since mom and dad have both passed away, some of these traditions still materialize in one form or another.  Sue sometimes has Christmas breakfast with all the trimmings and sometimes manages to make a roaster full of mom's vegetable soup; Barry carries on the tradition of making party mix every year.  I always look forward to receiving that package as it brings all these memories flooding back.  Christmas isn't the same these days and it can be a difficult time for me without mom and dad being around anymore.  I don't decorate and don't have a tree, I'm not in a financial position to exchange gifts, but the family does their best to include me in some of these and their own traditions that keep the memories alive and I'm truly grateful for that!  Hopefully you all have your own memories of Christmases past and keep them alive today.  My wish is that your holidays are filled with warmth, love and the joy of the season!  Merry Christmas!