|
When
Children were Children
A
celebration of life
By
Sharon Hopper
The
excitement of the season. Bells are ringing outside the stores
and Christmas tree lights are blazing all over the neighborhoods. The
city
parks are decorated with scenes of Christmas, and in our town we had a
small
train ride for a nickel that we could ride all over the park to see the
lights
and displays. It truly was a grand time in my childhood memories. If It
snowed
and it usually did we would pile in the car and go for a drive to see
all the
decorations in and around our neighborhoods to view all the pretty
lights. And
of course we always visited the rich neighborhoods because they would
have the
most beautiful light displays.
But
several things were really different. The lights were green,
red, white, and true blue. Not purple, lime green or off blue and
yellow. Christmas
was red and green. Santa was round and not on a diet. The Christmas
tree was
really cut and purchased in a tree lot, and smelled of pine all over
the house.
And of course after about two weeks the tree began to drop those sticky
needles
all over.
And
mother baked for days- Cookies, loaves of holiday breads, and
candy. We used to have a huge container of decorated cookies and
sometimes they
lasted for more than a month after Christmas. We had Lots of cookies.
And we
kids used to get the icing all over us helping mother ice and decorate
the
cookies. Nowadays it is heat and serve, or slice and bake. I still make
lots of
cookies and my children argue over who got the biggest plate of goodies
for the
holiday. I have to count them out just like I did when they were little.
And
remember those construction paper chains we used to make to decorate
the tree
and house with? It was an Inexpensive way for children to keep busy on
a rainy
or snowy day. How about the popcorn strings? I was another good way to
spend
some time. Mother used to cut designs and people figures and clothing
from
construction paper and we used to spend days decorating the pictures
and
anything else we could find to hang in the house for decorations. Our
decorations were homemade and inexpensive but always different from
year to
year. In comparison to the fancy decorations everyone purchases at the
store
these days our houses must have looked very simple and childlike. But
then who
is it we celebrate the season for? If my memory serves me-- it is a
Child. A
simple child, born in a stable, A Child named Jesus. The Child who made
the
world different. The Child who made us different. The Christ Child. In
fact that
child was and is the reason for the season. The season is not just for
presents
and decorations, but a celebration of life. The child Jesus was and is
the real
present. Merry Christmas!!!
|
