In our
family - mother, father, and six children - the weeks and days preceding
Christmas were almost as exciting as Christmas Day.
At school, we sang songs and made
Christmas items of red and green Construction paper, crayons, and cotton. The songs were especially important to the
feeling and anticipation of the Big Day.
We memorized the words to many of the Christmas hymns; also, "Up on
the Housetop", "Deck the Halls", "Jingle Bells",
"Over the River and Through the Woods"; the poem "The Night
Before Christmas - and just never grew tired of singing them, or reciting them.
At Sunday School we practiced for
the Christmas program, which was presented on an evening near to
Christmas. Recitations; classes singing;
the pageant with Mary and Joseph and the Baby Jesus and the star, shepherds,
Wise Men, and angels; the soft lights and candles - all were part of the magic.
Before the evening ended, there was
a visit from Santa. He entered from the
back of the church and made his way down the aisle, laughing and bowing,
touching and being touched by any who could reach him. At the front of the church, he opened his
huge, red Santa's bag and distributed small, brown paper bags of goodies to
each person, young and old. This
wonderful little brown bag had sugar plums, hard candy, sugar candy, an orange
and an apple. It rivaled the grandest of
Christmas gifts. It was so special to us
all and the first of the Christmas treats.
We tried to make it last as long as possible.
Home preparations began with making
the fruit cakes, maybe a month before.
One whole day, nearer Christmas, was set aside for making candy. Our mother, grandmother [note: this would be
Grandma Stovall's mother, Lillie Susan Childress, who lived with the family in
her later years and died in 1929], and Mrs. Murray, the candy expert, spent the
day making candy - brittles; fondants, with cherries or nuts or creams, dipped
in chocolate; fudge; and divinity. We
could hardly wait to get home from school on that day, to see the display of
goodies, and to enjoy small samples. The
candy then disappeared until Christmas, and was served at special times and to
guests.
The house was thoroughly
cleaned. All windows and curtains were
washed. Floors, furniture, and silver
were polished. Special dishes were
brought out. Greens and holly were
placed above pictures and mirrors, on mantels and the buffet.
Theoretically, the young children
never saw the Christmas tree until Christmas morning. However, the route to the bathroom brought us
to pass the glass living room door, and by stretching and peeking, we could see
glimpses of the tree. It was a freshly
cut cedar, dressed in shiny ornaments and tinsel, with tiny, real wax candles,
clipped to the tips of the branches. The
same treasured tree top angel greeted us year after year.
In the morning [Christmas morning],
when all the family had gathered around the tree, following the special oyster
breakfast [note: this is a tradition that mom carried on while we were growing
up - we would have a cup of oyster stew, with butter and oyster crackers, for
our Christmas breakfast], the candles were lighted for only a very brief time,
to save our father from nervous collapse.
The only gifts under the tree were
from Santa, and usually there was no problem finding one's own, especially when
a special wish had come true. There was
a stocking for each one, too.
For several years, my sister and I
had the same baby dolls under the tree.
However, they always had new clothes, and the doll beds and carriages
had new coverlets and pillows, and sometimes were freshly painted. Also, the dolls had usually had a visit to
Santa's workshop because they needed new eyes, and sometimes new hands and
feet. The eyes opened and closed by
means of a lead weight attached to a wire, that was attached to eyes. It was a very fragile arrangement, and the
eyes often fell back into the doll's head, leaving only sad holes for
eyes. But Santa always made the doll
"like new", year after year, and we loved our dolls dearly - and
Santa, for being so good to "dolly" and us.
After enjoying our family time, the
exchange of visits began. Our playmates
would come with their special gift to show, look at our tree and gifts, perhaps
share a game, and we would go to their homes.
Even neighbors, where there were no children, welcomed the visits of the
neighborhood children. The visits were
always a very special part of Christmas Day.
Christmas dinner was traditional,
too. Sometimes a family would come to
our house for the dinner, and sometimes we went as guests. But the menu, with or without company, was
pretty much the same - ham, baked chicken, oyster dressing, cranberry sauce,
macaroni and cheese, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, corn pudding, green
beans, sweet peas, then dessert which always included ambrosia, pies, cakes,
cookies, and candy.
The feeling of Christmas remained
for many days, the sharing with friends through continued visiting helped
sustain it. However, the outward signs
had to be out of the house before New Year's Day. It was absolutely imperative that the tree
and greens be down and out, lest some terrible consequence befall the house and
all therein.
Then it followed, to go through the year,
until the next Christmas season, and the happy repetition of all the familiar
traditions.
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