Of all the many ornaments that decorated our Christmas trees, the one that stands out from all the rest is a plastic Cathedral. I don't know how or when mom placed it under the tree, but I remember it throughout the 1950's. It was an off-white color, and stood about a foot and a half tall. A Christmas tree lightbulb plugged into the back, and illuminated the cellophane windows.
We used to wind it up with the key in the back. It played the same kind of music you would find in a jewelry box and played Adeste Fidelis. Throughout the holiday it would be wound and listened to countless times, no one ever seeming to tire listening to it.
At least once during the holiday shopping season we'd go to Sears. As soon as we walked in the door our parents watched as we took off up the stairs to the second floor. They knew where we were headed and met us upstairs. We'd be in the toy department checking out the Lionel trains. The store always had a huge track display set up showing the new accessories that came out that year. We already knew what was new from seeing them on the countless tv commercials. I remember the year they came out with the submarine mounted on the flat car. We already knew what we wanted. Now came the hard part........convincing mom and dad they should buy it. They seemed to disagree while we were at the store but come Christmas morning it always seemed to appear under the tree.
The room was off to one side of the living room. All the oversized gifts that couldn't fit under the tree were in there........bikes, wagons, doll houses. You could see inside through the curtains. The guessing game began between us and our cousins as to who's getting the english racer, or the Schwinn bicycle.
Sitting on her sewing machine was her home made fruit pies, covered with dish towels.....apple, peach, blueberry, lemon merange. They'd sit there until the gifts were opened. Soon there was a living room full of kids playing with their new toys and games.
Sometimes our grandmother would be standing at the doorway asking if anyone wanted a piece of pie. Sometimes another adult would walk into the living room and sit in an arm chair, eating a piece of apple pie. It didn't matter how we found out pie was being served......toys and games were left as is, as we took off for the kitchen. She'd sit and watch as everyone got a slice or two of their favorite pie.
Walking into her house one Christmas Eve, something was definately different. There was no Christmas tree fragrance. As you walked into the living room there it stood. The first time it happened you caught your first glimpse of her artificial tree......tall, green and definately not real. The second time it happened you stood in awe. There before you was a tree just as tall, but this one was made of aluminum....all silver. Standing there, you actually saw it change colors.....red, green, blue, yellow, orange. Finding out how it changed colors now took preference over her sewing room, and what is that humming sound? After further investigation you saw something motorized, that had a colored disc that spun. Behind the disc was a light that shown through it and onto the tree. That tree will never be forgotten.
I was about twelve maybe thirteen and shopping by myself for the first time. I had to ride a bus into the next city where it was a shopper's bonanza. All the stores were open up and down Main Street for evening shopping. It was cold and started snowing late that afternoon.
I toured most of the stores that day, walking out of one store and right into the next one. Most of my shopping list was complete except for my grandmother. A punch bowl caught my eye earlier in a gift shop. It was made of glass and had eight cups that hung from the bowl on hooks. Complete with ladle it cost five dollars. I didn't have enough for the set and bus fare home and made a few trips into the store, always returning to the punchbowl.
The store owner came over and asked if I saw something I wanted to purchase. He looked old enough to be my grandfather, with plenty of grey and white through his hair. When I mentioned the punch bowl he had it on the register counter before I could tell him I didn't have enough money to pay for it.
Finally finding the words I told him I couldn't afford it. Looking up at him I noticed a woman about his age coming around the counter. Never looking at her he asked how much I had. When I said about four dollars and some change he asked who it was for. After telling him he thought a second and then said the price was mismarked, and it was three dollars, not five. With some quick calculating I already knew that this left me with bus fare and probably enough money left over for maybe a hot dog and drink.
Still not realizing he was giving me a gift, a thought came to my mind. Looking up at him I asked, "can you wrap it?" I heard the woman chuckle. Thinking back on it now she must have been his wife. The look on his face couldn't be described because I never seen a look like that before. Needless to say I wrapped that punchbowl myself.
Over the years we have learned just what kind of gift to give to almost every member of our family. We had an aunt who loved small figurines which you place on shelves or tables. Some people called them nic-nacs. Almost every year we would give her the same type of gift, without ever having to make a big effort finding something for her. Being very easy to please she would open the gift and thank you for it with a kiss and hug.
As a widow she lived by herself in a converted room her son made for her in his basement. She had a small stove and sink; her old bedroom and living room sets in another. She would ask you to visit downstairs in her place, but our visits were always upstairs with her, her son and his family.
Her passing over ten years ago hit the family hard. We visited her son and his family shortly after she passed away. He took us downstairs to her room and as we entered I stood in awe at what was before me. The first thing I noticed was her old furniture, all certainly antique, most being kept from when she was married before her husband passed in the late 1940's. I used to spend nights at her place with her son when I was a kid in the 1950's and I was seeing furniture and things I haven't seen since then.
Walking around her place in a trance I was almost afraid to touch some of these things, somehow thinking it was a dream. Coming to a coffee table, some shelves and her hutch I stared. There before me were all kinds of nic-nacs and figurines. Picking up a few items I felt something under one of the bases. Turning it over I stared at a small piece of paper scotch taped to the bottom. On it was our names, the occasion and the year she received it from us.
Staring at it, I saw a small gift that didn't take but a few minutes to shop for. To me when we bought them they were small, but to her they must have been something big in her life. Thinking back over the years I realized her kiss and hug while saying thank you was packed with words and feeling. They were filled with her love.
Merry Christmas
Melodyyyyy's Christmas Page
The Christmas Sprit - Asa Editoria
