Songs of Christmas Past

Merry Christmas.  

Just sitting here reminiscing about my childhood and the Christmas Holiday. I think we took them alot more seriously than they do these days. These days, they make shopping the thing and they speed us along. 
These weeks before Christmas were made for enjoying family and friends. Always church was a big part of it, in my home. We would have the annual church Christmas Pageant. The baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, and let's not forget all the manger animals, I am sure that I was a few. 
There was also midnight mass on Christmas Eve. I was always ready for that one. We would sing beautiful songs, the church lights would be lowered to show the lights and the candles all lit. I found it to always be so comforting and beautiful. You could actually feel God in the room. I would look around and see all my family and friends and remember how lucky I was. Then we would all head home. Laughing all the way, usually all bundled up and in the snow. The church was a few blocks away, and we would never even think of pulling the car out for something that short away.  
We would all get home, wet from the snow, because you know, someone always slipped and fell. One time, I was talking so much (me, yea right) and not looking where I was going, ran smack into a telephone pole. About knocked myself out. Big old knot for Santa. We would hang up the jackets, jammies on and in the bed we went. Just laying there listening for Santa. My parents never pre-wrapped and put them under the tree. Well a few times they did and my older brother thought they were all to be his and opened every one of them. So needless to say that was the end of that.
Christmas would come early enough, let us say around 4am. My siblings and I would run to see what Santa brought and the Christmas songs would be playing. 

Here are a few I like to remember the most.

"White Christmas" Bing Crosby


We kept our Christmas ornaments in some cardboard boxes up in the
hallway in probably an 4x4 space..now I have 20 tubs. We would just love when we would start pulling things down. My father would get the 6ft ladder out and slowly hand down the dusty boxes that contained the most treasured things in the world. Well we were little...

"Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer".. Gene Autry

Then we can't forget back when we were younger, these favorite shows would come on all the time before Christmas. We would all plan the entire days around when it came on. A quick dinner, a quick bath, jammies, your spot on the couch and a blanket and snuggle into a great family show.

"Frosty The Snowman"

Another great favorite for us children, was Frosty the Snowman... I am sure that we all sang along. These shows have endured for years and years. Actually my littlest, still believes..and Frosty is one of his favorites. Like Paddy said today, "This is my favorite time of the year" Keep that "child like flame" burning in your heart. Open it up wide and feel the season.

"The Grinch"

Ooops seems I am stuck a bit on some great Christmas Classics.

Who doesn't know every word to the song? And having the last name Lynch, I like to  transpose Grinch into Lynch and sing this to my husband, when he is a crabby man... that is true love...

"Silent Night"

Silent Night. This one actually holds so many memories of my childhood. I have 3 sisters and two brothers. I have two younger sisters than myself. My father always loved to line the last little three of us up and have us sing this for him. We of course would push, shove and put on a show. Just brings tears of when things were so simple as being a child. Then this song also brought us to midnight mass over at Trinity Lutheran. Where many of my friends were there to share the joy of the Christmas Seasons. I remember those fondly.

"O Tannenbaum"
"O Christmas Tree"

Who doesn't remember this one we all thought we could speak German. 

• 
  As we would pull the Christmas stuff out. We would sit the boxes down where of course, all of us would start digging. My father would get the lights out. I can remember all sort of lights. We at one time had the figure heads (Santa, angel) 
  

  

  
  
  then the snow ball ones, 
  

  

  
  and of course the large size regular ones. With the thick green cord and large plugs. 
   After the lights were on, then we would start placing ornaments. We had all sorts then too. When we were little we always had handmade ones. At Ruffner church we learned about chrismon trees
  
  

  

  
  This an actual newspaper clipping of us doing the tree. I am upfront on the left and my sister is behind me.
  
  and there would be those ornaments. Jacobs symbols, picture frame ornaments. Of course a hand print in flour clay to hang on the tree. I had three favorites. A heavy angel kneeling and two elves. Kinda looked like the elf on the shelf. I would hang them low, so I could lay under the tree and play. 
  
  

  
  

  

  
   My mother had a friend, Virginia Johnson, and she would always make handmade ornaments for each one of us kids, every single year.
  She was one of the most craftiest people I have ever known. She would attach such cute things to our gifts too.  This is not mine, but a picture of what mine looked like. 
  
  I haven't been able to go home in years and I am sure that all these things are probably gone or old and broken. That now they are just a fond part of my memories. 
  Which makes me think of that Christmas show, about the ornament. "Noel" 
  In the story, he gets taken out year, after year and then put up for many years. In the story it shows the memories, the love, the hope,the season.... and in the end he falls to the floor and shatters...and he becomes a great light out into the world...
  
  Just like God's love, and to have his son, Jesus, born in a manger....to go out and spread...love, hope, and the season....
  
  Merry Christmas To You and All your family and friends.
  
  Love
  
  PS
  

  

  One last throw back from the 60-70. The pull light Santa lapel pin.