52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 50 Prompt - Tradition

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks
Week 50
Prompt – Tradition

Christmas is all about traditions. It is those beliefs that our parents had and their parents before them. They fall through time without question to be done because that is the way it always was done. Some traditions are forever while others fall by the wayside only to be replaced by new ones. I do not know how my great grandparents and their ancestors celebrated Christmas. I have to assume that some of things we do and celebrate today were traditions they handed down.

As a child Christmas was a magical time for me. We knew Christmas was close when mom began baking. My sister, Bonnie wrote in her Christmas letter this year that mom always started her fruit cakes around Remembrance Day. It was a complicated recipe that took most of a day to finish. They had to be done early in order for the flavors of the dried fruit and spices to mature and keep the cake moist. My mom's Christmas cakes were non alcoholic, but I know it could be infused with rum or brandy to give it that moist flavorful edge. Did my Mennonite ancestors add the alcohol? Probably not.

 

Over the next month my mom would do her special Christmas baking. It included shortbread cookies, icebox cookies, jam jam cookies, fudge plus more. The house smelled divine however we could not even sample them as they were packed up and stored (hidden) until Christmas eve. From time to time they would be found and perhaps eaten by one of us, but that indulgence usually met my mother's wrath. 

Mom wrote Christmas cards every year. We got to help by licking the envelopes closed and licking the stamps to put on. Both leave disgusting tastes in your mouth. When I was older I got to address the envelopes because of my “neat handwriting”. Mom did not really enjoy this part of the Christmas tradition. It was a lot of work and expense. However everyone did it and thus she did it. Strings of Christmas cards hung on our walls as kind of a status of how many family and friends one had. It would usually be around 50 or so. To this day I write cards with a family news letter. This tradition is dying. I get less cards each year. Cards were a way to stay in touch with far away family and friends. Now we have instant real time communication with the family and friends through our I phones using Facebook, Instagram, twitter, and more. 

1971 - My Mother After Reaching Her WW Goal Weight.  Note the Christmas Cards on the Wall.

We had “real” Christmas trees when I was a child. In fact Bill and I had real trees until the early 1980's. The smell of the tree was unforgettable. We got our real Christmas trees at the local tree lot. I never had the pleasure of cutting one down to bring home. Dad would bring it home and saw off the bottom of the trunk to be placed in the tree stand usually with much soft cursing. When it was in its place in our living room in front of the window, the strings were cut and it fell open in a “ta-da” moment. We never knew until this moment if dad got a great full tree or a “Charlie Brown” tree. However my father loved Scotch Pines so we rarely had anything but a full beautiful trees. We decorated with our lights. Remember the string of lights that if one bulb burned out they whole string was out. Oh what fun it was discovering which light was burned out. That is why it was always checked before it was put up on the tree. The last thing after it was decorated with the Christmas ornaments was the tinsel. To hang individually or throw with wild abandon was a contentious issue at our house. 

Circa 1960 - Christmas. Lt to Rt Don, Dennis, Wendy, Rob & Bonnie. Posed in Front of Our Tree

As I have said before my father worked for Olympic Meat Packing Plant. Early in December the company sponsored a Christmas party for all of the employee's children. They rented a downtown theatre for a Saturday morning. Sometimes it was the Roxy theatre and sometimes the Capital theatre. We watched cartoons on the large screen. They had magicians and clowns that made balloon animals. We sang Christmas songs. And of course the highlight was Santa. As we left the theatre we were given a candy bag, a Christmas orange and a wrapped present. The presents were exceptional. My first Barbie was a gift from this work Christmas party.

We attended church when we were younger. The big thing was the Christmas Eve Sunday School concert for the congregation. We would practice every Saturday afternoon through December to be ready for the program which in our family was a highlight to enjoy. We would all dress up in our best clothes. The candlelight service was beautiful. We went home and mom would finally put out the candy and baked goods which we all enjoyed. One Christmas mom had put out the goodies before we went to church. When we came home we discovered our Samoyed dog had got into and ate half of the fudge. The poor dog was so sick. At the time we did not know that chocolate was poison to dogs so I guess we were lucky the outcome wasn't worse. 

1994 - Christmas Eve After Church. Lt to Rt Jackie, Jill, Bill & Wendy

Gifts were never put out before Christmas Eve. We opened our gifts on Christmas morning. We weren't even allowed to open one present Christmas Eve. The excitement was excruciating. There was more than one Christmas morn that we were awake and ready to open the presents by 5 A.M. And usually mom had only made it to bed by 1 or 2 A.M.

Christmas day was hectic and crazy noisy in our family. My grandmother wore a hearing aid. It was the type that had a wire that attached the hearing aid to the battery which she hid in her bra. We knew when things were too much for her when she was digging down the top of her dress to turn off or at least to turn it down. After that grandmother just sat with a quiet smile on her face. Mom, Dad, 7 children with their spouses and their children and grandma in a 3 bedroom home which was less than a 1000 square feet and no basement was frenetic at best. There was no where to hide. Mom made the turkey and all the fixings. It was a feast that we all appreciated. The special china and silverware was spread upon the table clothed table. It was all over too quickly. The clean up was done by all the women in shifts to make the process quicker.

Christmas cakes, baking, real trees, work parties, church plays, special clothes, Christmas cards,early morning gift opening and the Christmas feast of turkey were the traditions I grew up with and for the most part I am still enjoying. For me the best tradition of all was the gathering of family. 

Circa 1973 - Sue & Sandy Lutz; Cathy & Glenn Olajos. Taken at Grandparents' Peters Home.

2006 - Family Photo (Before Kelsey & Robyn)

I am looking forward to Christmas this year when we can update our family Photo. 

Wendy