Memories from Christmases Past

(Published in the Upson Home Journal December 2, 1987)



Christmas and Some Memories
By Aubrey Hammack



Christmas is the most widely celebrated holiday of the year for Christians and, of course, the birth of Jesus Christ is the reason. The giving of gifts was seen by the Wise Men at this time to pay homage to this birth. According to World Book, Christmas was first celebrated in 336 AD. At this time the Romans celebrated December 25th as this special date. Through the years Christmas has grown to great heights. The lights, trees, ornaments, singing of carols, baking of cakes, pies, cookies, and candies, and sending of Christmas cards – all have become deeply embedded traditions. Also, belief in Santa Claus is very much a part of the celebration. This wonderful man on a sleigh loaded with gifts and pulled by reindeer makes his annual journey from the North Pole on Christmas Eve to visit all of the boys and girls who have been good. It has been rumored for years that a bag of switches would be Santa’s gift for those who are bad.

Well, I don’t suppose I ever knew anyone who got a bag of switches, but some disappointing gifts have been received. I remember one my father told me about when I was pre-school age, probably. One Christmas Eve, he heard a knock on the door. When he went to the door he found a huge package that was wrapped very neatly. Upon opening it, he discovered a banana packing box. After going through endless newspapers, he finally found a pack of chewing gum.

Then there was a canned ham that was given to me by an employer some years back. After the employees had contributed a generous amount to purchase the boss a very nice gift – one by one we were called into his office to receive a canned ham. I was a little suspicious when all of the employees received identical gifts. However, when a fellow employee informed me that this was the same gift given each year, I wondered why. I was informed that the boss’s family owned the meat plant.

Also, this holiday was celebrated in an unusual way once for my wife and me. I was working at a radio station as and all night dis jockey. Well, of course, some occupations can take no holidays, so we celebrated Christmas by playing carols from 12 midnight until 6 am. My wife prepared a generous holiday meal as we celebrated this day together. If you’ve never tried playing Christmas songs for six hours non-stop – well, that’s a real experience.

Of course, there were some gifts that really were special. As a kid I remember the cowboy outfit with double holsters and caps to shoot, the first bicycle that my brother fixed for me out of spare parts (later I got a new blue Schwinn with a horn), a coke truck with tiny cases of cokes, skates with the key to skate in the street, the flyer red wagon that my oldest sister and her husband gave to me, the football that had the white stripes all the way around, and the BB pistol that I took back. Of course, what would Christmas be in the 50s and 60s without firecrackers? Infrequently I would get some cherry bombs – but mostly it was the 10-cent pack of firecrackers.

The traditional baking of cakes by my mom was a special event of the holiday season. My baby sister and I fought over the boilers that the topping was made in. My mom usually would bake several cakes. My favorite was raisin, chocolate, and coconut. Of course, I knew that dad was happy when the Tampa Nugget cigars came out.

One Christmas one of my sisters had just gotten back from Boise, Idaho, and she and I decorated the outside door in pine needles and lights. I still think they were the prettiest I have ever seen. The bubbling lights on the tree became a favorite of mine. Going shopping with another sister and brother-in-law for their daughter and two sons is still fondly remembered.

Many good memories are associated with this time of year. The family getting together was very special. This occurred almost without question on Christmas Eve at mom’s house. Even after my wife and I were married, this tradition continued. Our kids came along and though they are 16 and 13, our house is still an exciting place to be around Christmas time. Of course, we have started some of our own traditions. Like the 6-foot artificial tree that graces our living room for the 19th year. Yes, I love the real trees – especially their fragrance. But somehow, though, when we talk of having the real tree, our old tree just has too many good memories to replace. We usually take in a Christmas play or two just to make sure we have the spirit. This is reinforced by listening to the many carols. Bing Crosby’s White Christmas is still my favorite because I’ve never seen a White Christmas.

We have enjoyed holding on to the old traditions, but at the same time our family has begun to establish traditions of its own. The happy memories of Christmases gone by are only that. We are now in the process of making future memories. One of our special traditions has been to read the Christmas story from the Bible on Christmas night and open our gifts from each other. After all the extended family gatherings and the visit from Santa on Christmas morning, this gives us something to look forward to later in the day.

Whatever your family traditions are, may you enjoy them to the fullest this holiday season. Our family wishes you the very merriest of Christmases.