At Christmas we remember the birth of Jesus two thousand years ago. It has long been a joyful time of year. But throughout the centuries, the celebrations have changed. The emphasis has changed. The meaning has changed.
In the 1930s, the period known as the ‘dirty’ thirties‘, I was a pupil at the country school at Deep Lake. Each year repeated itself as Christmas drew near. The teacher put our names into a box and each child drew out a name. The name was to be kept a secret. My young mind told me that this was Christmas. The day of the concert was Christmas. The giving and receiving of one lone gift was Christmas. The whole student body from grades one to grade eight, generally numbering near forty, taught by one teacher, was excited.
When I observe today’s Christmas flurry, I long for those simple days. Unfortunately, the peace and simplicity of those times are gone.
Money was scarce during the thirties. No assistance from the government such as family allowance existed. I continue to marvel at how the homesteaders carried on.
Today’s advertising, shopping, over use of credit cards, special stores for toys, homes with every gadget on the market, frivolous spending, and bank balances in the red, cause me to wonder if the world has gone mad. I wonder how people can keep track of their lives when they are so preoccupied with buying.
As I think back to those early and difficult times I remember a beautiful and peaceful time in my life. We did not need to submit to the pressures of getting the ‘ultimate’ present. There was no advertising. Mailboxes were not filled with flyers. We had no sales pressures through televisions and radios.
Christmas for me was the school concert and the anticipation of giving and receiving a present. The one gift was a surprise that brought happiness and contentment.
The cost of each gift was limited to fifty cents and often they were purchased through the Eaton’s catalogue.
Before the concert a tree was set up in the school and presents, often wrapped in brown paper, were put under the tree. On the day of the concert we had last minute rehearsals and dismissed early. When we returned in the evening with our parents, we noticed a large boxful of many brown bags under the tree besides the gifts from fellow students.
At the end of the concert a noise was heard at the back door – hollering and the wild ringing of the school bell. “Ho, ho ho. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas boys and girls”. In his bag Santa Claus carried more brown paper bags.
I shivered when Santa arrived and shivered more when my name was called and a gift handed to me. Then I received a paper bag that contained an apple or two, an orange, peanuts and candies. I was delighted. We had little fruit during the winter. This was special.
Our dad generally went to town with horses and sleigh before Christmas for supplies Mother needed. He brought back a bagful of candy that he bought for twenty-five cents. Today that bagful would cost between $5.00, and $10.00. We were so pleased when Dad offered each of us a candy on the occasional evening; especially when we were good.
Those days I believed that singing carols and giving gifts was a celebration of the anniversary of the birth of Jesus. But as I became older I realized that not only do we remember His birth by giving and receiving, but also that God gave us a gift at that special time many years ago. “For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son…” John: 3:16. That was the ‘ultimate’ gift. It did not require money. It did not require a frenzy of shopping. It was given to the whole world with love - God’s love.
God bless. Pearl
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