Long Ago Christmas

By Belinda

I don't mean to be rushing things, but...

My Christmas decorations are in my formal dining room (that is never used for "formal dining)..

I have some Christmas memories of long ago to share...

and my friend Dave said that he is officially in the mood for an old fashioned Christmas story, having been at Santa’s Village this week with his family.

So, going back over 70 years in England, from the memory bank of Uncle John:

Grandmother Hartwright (the former Mary Jones) with her daughters Freda and Nancy (before they were married,) boiled the Christmas pudding for hours in a cloth and made their own mincemeat (as I also did in my "Earth Mother days" in the 70's.)

Instead of a tree they had a piece of hedge (how English is that?)--a yew--with candles. After Christmas it went back into the hedge (early recycling.)

One Christmas, Uncle George and Aunt Velma came from Canada (she was a Canadian.) Their children, Paul, Ainley and Mary Alice were with them and Uncle John said that, "We were all down in the cellar, a long building. We slept bed after bed like a barracks.

Uncle John Snr, Aunt Edith's husband, came around like Father Christmas."

They used to play lots of games: Snap; Ludo; dominoes and matching card games. This was before the war.

It was a great feasting time and involved a goose, "before the time when turkeys came into fashion or production."
Uncle John said, "We had to be quiet while the King spoke over the radio. King George the V1 was a good Christian king. It was almost a sacred moment."

Winters were colder. There was mistletoe and holly to decorate Grandma's house--and lots of cards. There used to be three deliveries a day!

The postman received a Christmas tip (probably well deserved after delivering all of those cards,) and so did the baker and milkman. It would either be a monetary tip or a mince pie. The butcher used to give them a pound of sausages for Christmas.

And there were oranges (such a treat!) lots of nuts and bowls of little sweets.

Uncle John and his older brother Ron always had an empty pillowcase on the bottom of the bed on Christmas Eve, and they would wake up to see if Father Christmas had come yet.

Uncle John's best ever Christmas present was --a set of wooden bricks--a thing of wonder in his opinion at the time-- and they had lead soldiers. He said, "It's a wonder we weren't all poisoned.

Church was part of every Christmas day.Aunt Dora was a musician and she played the piano or organ.

During the war, when there was a blackout enforced, but children would come around and sing carols.
They would sing carols; and not just a verse and then a knock at the door, but all the verses.

Well, that's it. Are you getting in the mood? I know it seems like it's a long way off, but it will be here in no time now that summer is on the wane.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Movies

A few nights ago, I touched on our conversation over dinner at cell group--a continuation of one we'd started the week before about our favourite movies. Sam had led an icebreaker where we had shared our favourites and it was surprising, funny and revealing to hear what they were. Here are some of them: Ron-- Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure Richard-- The Godfather Brenda-- Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Susan-- The Miracle Worker and Chariots of Fire Paul's were A Christmas Carol and Groundhog Day , and mine were: The Colour Purple and What About Bob All week though, I kept thinking--what was it about those particular movies that spoke to people--and that's what we discussed over dinner on Tuesday. It was as much fun finding out why people loved them as finding out what they were. We laughed loudly as Ron recounted some of the scenes in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure as they traveled back in time and collected historical figures for their history a
Read more

Ere Zij God--Glory to God in the Highest! A Dutch Carol

Image
By Belinda This beautiful Dutch carol was shared today by a friend of Dutch ancestry, on Facebook. I had never heard it before but absolutely loved it. It moved me deeply, especially at the end after the crowd leaves the church and then breaks into spontaneous singing again around a brazier, with the sound of chiming church bells in the background. Listen to it with headphones or a good speaker to get the full effect of the harmonies. And happy first Sunday in Advent!
Read more

Samson Beaver and his Family

Image
I first posted this in 2009, a little show and tell about one of my favourite photographs. Back then it hung on a wall, but now it's in my bathroom where I see it every morning! I'd forgotten the history behind the story, researched when I first posted this and thought that current readers might enjoy it--a story from a time when this land was still being discovered, not so very long ago. This photograph was taken by Mary Schaffer; artist, photographer, writer and naturalist, in 1907. It is of a Stoney Indian named Samson Beaver, with his wife Leah and daughter, Frances Louise. I bought the photo on a postcard, on a trip to British Columbia and it hangs framed, on the wall I face when sitting at my laptop. I love it. Don't you just feel as if you could gather Frances Louise up in your arms and cuddle her? I get a deep sense of peace and happiness when I look at this family, sitting in the grass of a long ago fall. They are dressed in their best, beautiful c
Read more