The Christmas season began for me as a kid when the Sears-Roebuck Christmas catalog hit the front steps. That was a thrilling day. It was less thrilling later in life when, as a US Mail carrier, it was my job to lug those damn things to every household in the greater St. Paul area. When that Sears-Roebuck Christmas catalog hit the steps, Christmas had started. There were other catalogs too, Montgomery Wards’ for example, but the Sears catalog was where it was at. Us kids would gaze longingly at the pages, greedily marking what we wanted Santa to bring. Mom and Dad carefully explained that because of the burgeoning world population Santa had to farm out some of the toy production to the good people at Sears.
In my youth, every holiday had its season. The Mitchell Kmart, now the site of Runnings, used to have the Halloween masks, costumes and other supplies for that holiday in a couple of aisles and then, as you moved to the north towards what was the lawn and garden section in the summer, the Halloween aisles gave way to the Thanksgiving decorations – pilgrims, turkeys, etc. – and then came the Christmas trees, all in late August or early September. That wasn’t the case when I was a kid. Halloween had its day, then Thanksgiving and then the day after Thanksgiving the magic of Christmas started to happen.
City streets were festively decorated for the Yuletide season, and it happened literally overnight. Salvation Army Bands (more like trios) appeared on selected street corners and played Christmas carols. Dayton’s (now Macy’s) in downtown Minneapolis went all out for Christmas. The scene in Elf when Will Ferrell decorates the department store because Santa is coming reminds me of what the “kid’s floor” in Dayton’s looked like. The kids’ floor was the one with all the Christmas toys, live elves, Santa’s reindeer (facsimiles of course, unfortunate for us city kids hoping for live animals) and Santa himself. I can’t remember which floor it was on exactly (6th, 8th?) but it took FOREVER to get up there and Mom wouldn’t let us run up the escalator. Children had to just stand fidgeting as it moved, in slow motion, up towards Santa; meanwhile, other kids were already in line waiting to tell the Jolly Old Elf what they wanted for Christmas. Mom told us to be patient. but come on! How much can one sleigh hold anyway!?! Wasn’t it first come, first served? Come on escalator, you’re a means of conveyance not a sight-seeing vehicle!!
Childhood is where the first lasting memories are formed. Growing up, we always had a Christmas tree with all the trimmings but that was the only seasonal decoration in the house. We had no lights on our home just a creche on the front step, Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus along with the three wise men – Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar. Dad read the Christmas story from Matthew every Christmas Eve before we opened presents (Christmas Day was for the grandparents). We didn’t get the haul that modern children get today but it was enough. There were Christmas foods that we had every year along with tons of Christmas cookies that we got to help decorate. Those were glorious times.
Of course, as a child, I had no idea of the planning, preparation, work and expense that goes into the holiday season. I was blissfully unaware of family tensions between the in-laws. For example, it wasn’t until I was an adult and my maternal grandparents had passed away that I was cognizant of the fact that for the first eleven years my parents were married (and the first nine years of my life) my Mom’s folks never – and I mean never – spoke to my father. They thought she had married beneath her and so gave him the silent treatment for more than a decade.
Christmas can be an occasion of expense, stress, frustration and negative family dynamics. However, your Christmas is what you decide to make it. It can be a time of shared activities, like baking cookies, trimming the tree, decorating the house – inside and out etc. It should be about love, family and the fellowship of friends. You create lasting impressions for children with the sights, smells and traditions you choose to observe and participate in during this period of Noel. Celebration and wonder ought to be the prevailing attitude towards this blessed season rather than one of curmudgeonly obligation. Joy comes in many forms and most of them, especially this time of year, don’t come from a store.
This Yuletide, make it about the memories rather than about the stuff. This Noel make it about the sights, sounds and smells of the holiday as well as reminiscences of festive Christmases past this year instead of the sheer volume of presents. Find the true meaning of Christmas in the best gift of all – a loving family, wonderful friends, time together and a temporary respite from the cares of the world. A physical present will wear out, get broken, lost and forgotten. The gift of love and memories, those are the things that will last and be truly cherished forever.