Grandpa Mac used to say that every year. I remember my brothers and I would wait for it, and were never disappointed.
The early Christmases are dear memories to me. Usually, the big get-together happened at our house on Ferguson Road. I remember we usually had the fire going in the wonderful fireplace that Dad built when I was a baby. Family would come...my mom's parents, and through the years, usually some aunts, uncles, and cousins, too.
Grandma Mac usually prepared Julekake, which is Norwegian Christmas cake; it's basically a sweetbread with candied or dried fruit. Grandma used to add a confectioner's sugar frosting to the top. This is something we ate on Christmas morning (more on that later). She once told me that her mother (who was born in Christiana, Norway...now known as Oslo) used to bake it in a very large round loaf. Apparently, she had a very big oven that could accommodate this loaf. I don't think her version was frosted. Grandma's was usually comprised of many loaves placed together in a shape--usually, a very large Christmas tree.
In the early days, Grandma and Grandpa would drive down sometime on Christmas Eve day. In later years, when it was becoming harder for Grandpa to see, we used to drive to their house and pick them up. I remember I went up by myself one year not long after getting my driver's license to drive them the hour-and-a-half drive. As I recall, I believe Grandma had more confidence in my driving than Grandpa did, but both seemed proud that their granddaughter escorted them to the celebrations.
We always went to church at least once on Christmas Eve. Since I played and or sang at the big Presbyterian church, we would go to that service, and if there was time, at least Grandma and Mom would go to the midnight service at the local Episcopalian church. Back home, Grandma would start working on her famous dressing and we would listen to Christmas music and programs on the phonograph, on the radio, or the television.
I remember there was always a game played. Usually, it was dominoes or Scrabble, and there'd be a card table set up with a jigsaw puzzle. That was always fun, because if you felt like working on it, you would sit at the table for awhile, and then let someone else take their turns.
Often, we would drive through town to see all the lights and decorations on the houses...that stopped during the energy crisis of the 1970s, when hardly anyone decorated their houses. I do it now, usually on the drive home from Christmas celebrations.
Santa came to our house and would set all the toys up ready to play, complete with batteries if needed. I heard stories later about how things like train sets were played with a lot in the middle of the night by the older members of the family, so they were well in use before we got to see them.
Christmas morning, we would all be lead out to the kitchen table--usually with a blanket over our heads. We had to eat breakfast before we could see the gifts. This was smart on my parent's part, because that pretty much assured them we'd actually have a decent meal before pouring into the candy and treats. My older brother used to tease my younger brother and me and eat VERY SLOWLY. Drove us crazy. And I learned later that my younger brother never liked the Julekakke, mainly because of the candied fruit. I'm not sure what he did, but I know it was agony.
At least once, Dad filmed us coming out of the bedrooms in the morning. He had engineered a sort of light bar for use in the filming. And that light was BRIGHT. So imagine coming out of the bedroom and being met by this light as bright as the sun! Lots of footage of us rubbing our eyes. Back then, there wasn't any audio to these, but perhaps that's a good thing. No, we didn't swear--that was strictly forbidden--but I'm sure we weren't too nice about this.
After we had eaten what was deemed "enough," we were allowed to run into the room to see what Santa had brought. The stockings always had a penny (for good luck, I learned) in the toe. I learned later that Grandma always supplied those.
Grandpa used to get up very early in the morning (like 3AM sometimes!) and tiptoe down the hall toward a favorite comfy chair we had, where he'd remain for the rest of the day. In those early hours, I think he read the Bible and prayed in that chair. And then would watch us and open his own presents. Grandma used to save wrapping paper and ribbons for re-use, so they took forever opening their gifts. And sometime during that time, Grandpa would fall asleep.
That's just some of the Christmas memories I have of childhood Christmases. In more recent years, we've made new traditions. I'll talk about that in another post sometime.
I'm thinking about those we've lost in recent years. My big brother. My parents. My husband. And they are missed; it's hard sometimes to deal with the happy in the holidays. But I try to find joy, a far more permanent and fulfilling thing. I still feel sad this time of year, but there are lots of distractions that help me get through.
My wish for you, dear reader, is a blessed Christmas and New Year.
Love,
Me
