Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Christmas in the Country


             
When I was a child I thought it would be so nice to live in a city where there were many Christmas lights on display. What fun it was to go into town and experience all the hustle and bustle associated with the season! Shoppers rushing around as the cold night air turned noses red; the sound of the Salvation Army bells jingling on every street corner. It was beyond thrilling.

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But we lived in the quiet of the country where the only Christmas lights to be seen were on trees in windows of the houses you drove by.

I would hear the song, “Silver Bells, Silver Bells, its Christmas time in the city,” and think, “but it’s Christmastime in the country, too,” and wonder why “we” were “left out.”

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But we did have our share of outings in town because my mother was a real Christmas person and so much enjoyed seeing the bright lights of the season. She would “ooh and ahh” at each display; would select with care each and every gift she bought for her daughters and try her best to get daddy excited about the season.

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One vivid memory is the selection of our tree one year. It was late afternoon, the December sky dark and sleet beginning to fall as he steered the 1953 Chevrolet into the Sears & Roebuck parking lot in Florence. Mother opted that she and the girls would stay in the car while she sent him off to make a selection.
  
Here’s daddy, shivering in the cold, as he dragged one tree after another over to the car for mother's approval. She would shake her head “no,” and off he would go for another try. 

On this process went and daddy must have brought five or six trees to the car before he finally got it right!

By the time he stood in line to pay, tied the Frasier fir atop the car and slid in behind the wheel, his hat and gloves were frosted over from the sleet and he was shivvering. But mother had the tree she wanted!

Daddy, who was always one to tell a good story, recounted this one many times over the years, making light of it and always garnering a laugh from his audience. The joke was on him but he loved it!

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Those trees would sit in a tub of water outdoors several days before being brought inside to be stood up in the living room and decorated. And what excitement that was. But first we had to get past stringing the lights, which was always a chore that the parents did. And as I recall, an argument usually ensued – probably because some of the lights didn’t work, bulbs had to be replaced and placed on the tree just so. This was serious business.

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But after the lights were on, my sister and I were allowed to hang the tinsel, ornaments and silver icicles on the tree. And then we would sit in the living room and gaze at that thing of beauty. There was nothing like a Christmas tree, and all the more special because it was to be enjoyed for such a short time.

So at least while inside our cozy house we could enjoy the lights of Christmas, just like people in the city. And it was good.


8 comments:

  1. What a sweet, sweet post and I remember it like it was yesterday! How special that tree was and it was definitely a short lived thing. Up a week before Christmas and out the door, sometimes the night of the 25th. Another thingI remember so well - the front door was on the north side, and each time someone came in and out that door all those icicles blew off and had to be put back on!!! Such good memories!!!!

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    1. I had completely forgotten about the wind from the opening front door blowing off the icicles! Another good memory and thanks for adding that. And I remember how we used to beg to leave the tree up until New Years Day but how mother was so ready to get it out the back door! All those pine needles dirtying up the floor!

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  2. What a lovely story, and for me the best part is the idea of being out in the frost and snow to find the tree! Christmas comes in Australia mid-summer and my childhood memories are set against a backdrop of intense heatwaves. We always travelled to my grandfather's place, about 5 hours away, and my mother slaved over an old wood-burning stove to produce a hot roast chicken meal with all the trimmings, followed by plum pudding, cream and custard. How we loved it! From the age of 8 or 9 I organised my younger siblings, and each year produced a concert for the adults on Christmas night. My first effort involved a Nativity play, and we grabbed the youngest baby in the family and popped him into the scene when Mary & Joseph has positioned themselves. Always great fun, and it helps being the eldest of six!

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    1. You have great memories of Christmas past as well. It's hard to imagine Christmas coming in the hot weather, but it's all a matter of reference, isn't it? My grandmother cooked on a wooden stove for many years as well. Seems food tasted so good cooked that way.

      You are quite the musical person!

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  3. Such a charming memory from your childhood,mothers had to be pleased. Ida

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    1. That old saying, "If Mama ain't happy ain't nobody happy" is oh so true!! (But perhaps that saying is only known here in the American South?)

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  4. Wonderful to read about getting the tree. Your Dad just knew what had to be done didn't he? Although I wasn't raised in the country, our town never had the spectacular store window displays found in the big cities and most people didn't have elaborate yard lights and so forth. It was still fun to ride around and see what there was to see.

    Darla

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    1. Seems homes never used to have exterior lights as they do nowadays. A tree in the living, a wreath on the front door, candles in the windows -- that was about it. I suppose that's the reason the lights in town at Christmas were so special.

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