Wednesday, December 8, 2010

CHRISTMAS

12-8-10...CHRISTMAS

Christmas was never about gifts for my family. When we were very young and still believed in Santa of course the gifts were great but later as we grew up gifts became less significant. It was a day of family , closeness, and love. We had a large extended family then. Lots of Aunts, Uncles, cousins and anyone who had made their way into our hearts and our home.

Christmas was a warm fuzzy feeling that something significant and wonderful was about to happen. We were Thankful for what we had and the ones who we shared with.

Dinner was just like any dinner. We ate what we had. I don't remember ever having a turkey. Daddy would kill a fat hen from the chicken house. Mamma made the best cornbread dressing you ever laid your tongue to and her dinner rolls would melt in your mouth slathered with some fresh butter that I had usually shook in a jar. Then there was the Southern Pecan Pie. There was a big pecan tree in Brenda's yard and the whole family cracked the pecans and picked the nuts out with a bobby pin.

On Christmas Eve we always had a Program at the Church. The kids usually portrayed the birth of Jesus in a play. Then we had a living Christmas tree. The men built a wooden structure in the shape of a Christmas tree. We all stood on the layers as it went upward and someone was The Christmas Angel on the top. I remember getting to be the Angel one year. I had an angel costume with golden wings provided by the Church. The Angel got to wear a star on their head. It was beautiful. Each child held a beautiful ornament and we sang Christmas Carols with the lights dim so we could sparkle.

On one side of the stage was a huge Christmas tree (Cedar tree) that the men brought in and sat up. We had lots of lights and we made strings of garland with construction paper. We also strung popcorn and cranberries. That was as festive as we got.

I don't see Christmas as it was or should be any more. That warm fuzzy feeling that I got is harder to come by now. People around the stores are rude and in too much hurry. All over the store is Santa and his reindeer. Now Santa is OK with me, I don't have a problem with Santa. I do have a problem with Santa, trees, and gifts being the focal point of Christmas. I think if one more person says Happy Holidays to me I will explode. We got our Greatest Gift long ago when little Baby Jesus was born in a stable and laid in a manger. That was THE GIFT that means something. That is what Christmas is all about.