| December 10 '05 |
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| Volume 497 |
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Christmas
Decorations Past And Present
The weekend before Thanksgiving, one of my
neighbors put up his outside Christmas decorations. My first impression was
that it was entirely too early for Christmas decorations, but my wife explained
that she had learned our neighbor would be vacationing the week of Thanksgiving
and chose to decorate a week earlier than usual.
When I was a tyke, my family’s Christmas decorations were mostly limited
to an indoor tree. There were a few years in which my parents bought a spruce
tree for Christmas, and one year, I cut a small pine, because that’s
what Mom wanted, but most of the Christmas trees that I remember occupying
our living room were cedar trees. I believe there was one year in which we
had an aluminum tree, but that fad didn’t last long.
The Christmas trees that I helped decorate in my childhood years were not
as shapely as the ones found these days. Our cedar trees usually had an
unattractive side that was turned to the wall, and sometimes the trunk was
curved and several attempts were required in order to get it to stand upright.
And, on at least one occasion, we had to wire it to the wall, so that it
wouldn’t topple over.
Bubble lights were too expensive for my family, but we did have a few strands
of multicolored lights to enhance the aluminum icicles and glass-ball ornaments.
I can’t remember for certain, but I believe that during one of the
Christmases we lived in Iuka, Mom showed us how to string popcorn and use
it as a tree decoration.
Since our family used a freshly cut live tree, Mom worried the lights on
the tree might set the branches on fire, especially once the tree had been
up for a week or so. Probably for that reason, we never put up a Christmas
tree much more than a week before Christmas Day.
To the best of my knowledge, our family never used outside decorations, and
I can’t remember anyone doing so until years after I graduated from
high school. In the days of my youth folks were content to have a lighted
tree in front of a window that faced the street, and those who wanted to
go all out might have framed the window with multicolored lights.
During one of my years at Ole Miss, I was inspired to add a bit of Christmas
cheer to my dorm room. I bought a strand of multicolored lights and taped
or tacked them to the inside of the window of my fourth floor room. After
a couple of nights, I was notified such was a violation of dorm policy and
told to take them down. Someone on the staff of the school newspaper heard
about my plight, called and interviewed me, then wrote an article in the
student paper. When all was said and done the lights came down, and I continued
to live on campus.
I don’t recall the first year Barbara and I began to use outside Christmas
decorations, but it didn’t happen until clear lights became popular
and folks started using them to trim their roofline and porch posts with
lights. Barbara reminded me there was a time during the "energy crisis" of
the mid-seventies when folks were asked to conserve energy, and a lot of
folks cut back on exterior illumination during the Christmas Season.
We no longer use it, but we still have a bit of Christmas yard-art that Sara
Sue made for us several years ago, when Rayanne and Jason were young. It’s
a couple of pieces of plywood hinged together to look like an opened Christmas
Card. It has a scene with children on one side and "Merry Christmas from
the Carters" on the other side. We used to stake it on the front lawn of
our 8th Street home and illuminate it with a flood light. Now
that Sara’s retired, maybe we can get her to modernize it somewhat for
next year.
Since moving to Dogwood Circle, we’ve taken to spotlighting the front
of our house each Christmas. Having experimented with various arrangements
of wreaths, we’ve landed on placement of an unlighted wreath with a
red bow on each of the six front windows. We still dress the yaupon tree
in the front flowerbed with clear lights. This year, when Rayanne was over
to rearrange our living room to make room for the artificial Christmas Tree,
she asked me to attach a wreath to the wall near the entrance to our guesthouse,
which has since been spotlighted, too (note: Photo).
Through the years, especially since my daughter grew up, my home gets decorated
for Christmas earlier than it once did. The older I get the more I come to
believe that decorating a Christmas Tree is a job best tackled by the young
or the young at heart. I’ve seen the work that goes into decorating
a tree, and I’d just as soon someone else did the work. I thought
Rayanne’s energy was going to play out before she got the lights on
the tree in the living room. Fortunately, Felicia showed up in time to help
her, and the two of them soon had it completely decorated.
Ours, the smallest of the houses ringing Dogwood Circle, is arguably among
the prettiest of the neighborhood, this holiday season. And, I would add,
it’s the least expensively adorned. But, don’t take my word for
it, drive by and see for yourself.
Christmas
Laughter Who's Number One
My parents loved to laugh, especially at themselves.
All of our family gatherings usually produced a litany of funny
stories of their shenanigans, and every one was true! With 4 children, my
mother had a big job coming up with the right Christmas gifts for each of
us and keeping the secrets until Christmas morning. She was extremely good
at hiding gifts, and we looked everywhere, we thought.
My younger brother and sister were notorious for opening packages and re-taping
them, thinking that Mother would not know. To foil them one Christmas she
assigned each of us a number and labeled the packages 1, 2, 3 and 4. Come
Christmas morning we always had some things from "Santa," and then we opened
the gifts from our parents.
Well, the year of the numbering was hilarious because mother forgot what
the number assignments were. After we had a long wonderful laugh-a-thon at
her expense, we began opening packages at random so that Mother could tell
us the intended recipient. I owe a lot to my parents, especially my sense
of humor.
By Linda Thomas, Pontotoc, MS
Christmas 1930
A Joyous Christmas
Back in 1930, when I was seven years
old, we were lucky enough to have food on the table in our Mississippi home.
As Christmas approached, we kids didn't expect anything because we knew our
parents didn't have much money. But on Christmas Eve, our landlord, Mr. Hamilton,
rode up on his horse, carrying a big sack on his saddle.
He told my mother that he hoped she wouldn't mind that he and his wife, knowing
of our financial situation, had bought us kids a little something for Christmas.
Mother thanked him and took the sack inside.
Mother told us to hang up our stockings - old Santa Claus was going to visit
us after all!
The next morning, my two sisters, three brothers, and I each had an apple,
an orange, candy, nuts, and a toy in our stocking. It was the happiest Christmas
I can remember.
By Marlin Swanson - Bakersfield California
Christmas
Memories Send Yours To RRN
Unless one is a relatively recent subscriber/ reader of this newsletter,
he or she is familiar with our practice of soliciting holiday memories. Normally,
several individuals share a special Christmas memory
Christmas is my favorite holiday, largely because the traditions passed down
through my mom’s side of the family placed great emphasis on this particular
holiday. Mom’s dad loved Christmas, and he made Christmas the most special
day of the year for his three daughters. I must have heard Mom talk about
her childhood Christmases a hundred times or more, but I never grew tired
of hearing her stories.
Oral history is fine, but sometimes memories infrequently recalled fade and
details are lost. I would encourage everyone to write a favorite holiday
memory, not so much that I need to use it in this publication, but that it
might be read and enjoyed by family members of future generations. Do it
today, before the memory is forever lost. It’s a lot easier to preserve
a letter or notebook than a mind.
Memories need not be limited to joyous events and may include family traditions.
Disappointments such as Santa never bringing this writer a pair of sidewalk
skates or a new bicycle are as important to family history as the toy trucks
and cap pistols that found their way beneath the Christmas Tree.
It's not too late to submit your memory for the next issue of Ridge Rider
News.
Bodock Beau Late
Night Humor
The following "Nightlines" are borrowed from Wednesday's issue of The
Federalist Patriot.
David Letterman... "Top New President Bush Strategies for Victory
in Iraq":
-
Make an even larger "Mission Accomplished" sign;
-
Encourage Iraqis to settle their feud like Dave and Oprah;
-
Put that go-getter Michael Brown in charge;
-
Launch slogan, "It's not Iraq, it's Weraq";
-
A little more vacation time at the ranch to clear his head;
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Boost morale by doing his hilarious "Locked Door" gag;
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Place Saddam back in power and tell him, "It's your problem now, dude."
Jay Leno... Saddam Hussien was back in court. They said that Hussein
remained defiant and acted as if he was still in power. Kind of like the
Democrats here. ...
Only in America—even though [California Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham]
stole $2.4 million he has agreed to pay back $1.8 million to make it right.
So let that be a lesson to all you other Congressmen out there. If you get
caught stealing you may have to pay back a small fraction of what you took.
President Bush was at the Mexican border recently. Apparently his poll numbers
are so low, he was thinking of making a run for it.
Right after he finished the speech the rebuttal was given by the Democrat
leader—Barbra Streisand. ... Actually, the rebuttal was given by John
Kerry. Then Kerry asked for more time to give a rebuttal to his own rebuttal.
The U.S. Postal Service says they expect to handle twenty billion pieces
of mail for the holidays. They'll only deliver about ten billion, but they'll
handle twenty billion.
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