Saturday Night Genealogy Fun -- Holiday Celebrations and Memories - Part 1

 Calling All Genea-Musings Fans:

 It's Saturday Night Again - 

Time For Some More Genealogy Fun!!

Come on, everybody, join in and accept the mission and execute it with precision. 

1)   Today's challenge is to share memories of December holiday gatherings and celebrations with your families (as a child, a young adult, a parent, a grandparent, a great-grandparent, an aunt or uncle, a nibling, a cousin, an in-law)!  

2)  Pick two or three questions from the list in my blog post:  Ask AI:  "What questions can I write about concerning family gatherings and celebrations during the December holidays?"

3)  Tell us about your memories of your holiday gatherings and celebrations in your own blog post, in a comment here, or on your Facebook page.  Be sure to leave a link to your report in a comment on this post.

Here's mine:

a)  "Who traditionally hosted holiday celebrations in your family, and why?"

It depends.  I don't recall a Christmas celebration before 1951 when I was 8 years old.  I'm sure we had them, but I don't remember.  From the time I was 9 years old, we always celebrated Christmas at my maternal grandparents home on Point Loma, which had a chimney (that was very important because Santa Claus - it kind of sealed the deal for this curious giftgetter).  A big fireplace, a beautiful tree, traditional food (turkey, vegetables, potatoes, stuffing, pie, etc) were always there.  Until 1957 or so, we spent the night there,  with my parents sleeping on couches and my brothers and I in the extra bedroom.   We went to sleep with great anticipation singing Christmas carols with my grandmother in bed with a candle burning and the lights out.  This is my fondest memory of hristmases past.  After failing to hear reindeer hooves on the roof and Santa Claus coming down the chimney, we succumbed to visions of sugar plums, and then leaped out of bed at about 5 a.m. to go check out the Christmas tree and see which gifts had our names on them.  My parents and grandparents awakened, and shared in the gift wrapping demolition that occurred while enjoying our excitement.  I will never forget the Davy Crockett coonskin cap, the Daisy air rifle, the flexible flyers, the bicycles, the football and baseball gear.  We probably received clothes too.  

By the time I was 15, we stayed home on 30th Street on Christmas Eve and opened gifts on Christmas morning, and then went to my grandparents home for more gifts and Christmas dinner.  My brothers and I got married and had our own family Christmas mornings and then we all went to Gram and Gramp's home after our own family celebrations.  After they died in the 1970s, my parents inherited the house and they became the hosts for Christmas dinner.  Our spouses helped in the kitchen and dining room and the men shepherded the grandkids.  

There was another holiday celebration from 1945 into the 1980s at my father's cousin's home in Kensington in San Diego, usually the day or weekend before Christmas.  Cousin Dorothy was the only relative on my father's side, and she was, well, different.  She was an artist, so there were bare branches and fabricated decorated ornaments on her tree.  The food was different too, and the gifts were more "educational."  There was no singing.  My brother and I always snuck upstairs to check out the naked angels painted on the wall of the bathroom.  There was a big back yard with a couch swing to play on, and a fish pond and gardens to explore.  We had a lot of fun for awhile there.

My family traveled almost every year to San Francisco before or after Christmas to celebrate with Linda's parents, brother and extended family.  More presents and food and memories (the foldout couch bed was terrible!).  Then our two daughters moved away, got married, and had babies.  They came to Chula Vista for Christmas Day every other year to share Christmas Eve and day with us, and we tried to visit both families during the Christmas weeks in the alternate years.   

This year, I will visit Linda at her Memory Care facility and share gifts with her, and have her talk to our daughters and our grandchildren (Facetime!).  Then I will drive to Huntington Beach and get there in time for the 1 p.m. football game and share dinner with daughter Tami's family, open gifts, make memories, and share hugs with them.  Daughter Lori is coming next week to visit with Linda and share gifts, hugs and kisses.  

b)  "What did the space feel like during the holiday -- sights, sounds, and smells?"

At our home in Chula Vista, Linda was the collector of angel ornaments and figurines.  Our cut Christmas tree, always a fir tree from a local lot, was decorated with lights, angel ornaments, popcorn strands, and tinsel, was in a corner of the living room with ample space for gifts under the tree.  The house was decorated with more angel items.  Dinner was a big production but very traditional  (turkey, vegetables, potatoes, stuffing, pie) and the girls helped with preparations and serving.  Occasionally, we had my mother and/or close friends over for dinner.  I tried to have Christmas music playing in the background.    

c)  "Were there special rituals or traditions your family followed (e.g., lighting a menorah, hanging ornaments, exchanging gifts, volunteering)?"

One of the traditions we had in our family was to participate in the annual Christmas pageant at our church in the sanctuary, about two weeks before Christmas.  The Christmas Story was told by narrators and the music director and chancel choir would lead the congregational hymn singing.  I was always a shepherd because I had a beard, but had no speaking part and couldn't sing worth a darn (so I moved my lips and got in the spirit - Angels We Have Heard on High was my favorite hymn).  A young church couple were usually Mary and Joseph, but they used a baby doll, not a real baby.  Our daughter Tami was one of the angels.  After the service, the congregation would gather around the tall cross on the patio and sing Silent Night with lit candles.  It was a wonderful way to welcome and celebrate the season.  We did this for about 15 years in the 1980s and 1990s and it was really special. 

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