I grew up in a rural N GA family of 5 boys plus mom and pop. My father was a self-employed barber who made around $13k annually whilst the kids were home. Which is to say, we were lower, lower middle class, but didn't know it. We knew our family didn't have much money, but didn't give it much thought.
Christmas involved a trip to the woods to find a scraggly white pine, which was then laden with lights and decoration, almost to the point of collapse. I don't recall too many other decorations, though special Christmas food and candy was prevalent.
Our tradition was to get up very, very early to see what Santa had brought, then, when everyone was up, we would tear through all the wrapped presents without any order or delay. We got plenty of loot, but it could not have been expensive loot, because we had so little money.
We were a pretty close family and everyone wanted to be together. The food and fun abounded, so no one paid that much attention to the gifts, though they were a central part of Christmas mornings. We centered Christmas in the Living Room, and it had a fireplace, so every Christmas we built a fire and burned a good bit of wrapping paper, but fortunately never had a chimney fire.
Christmas was pretty much the KEY holiday of the year, and was much anticipated. There wasn't much stress, at least from our perspective. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, and the weather varied, but our family pleasures seemed pretty independent of all that.
We probably have preserved a lot more of the tradition than I realize. Our own artificial tree still bears ornaments from our old family decorations. But much of family is the pleasant memories that arise from times past. And, though I don't recall many specifics, I do clearly recall Christmas being a fun, family, loving time.
And that's enough.
Christmas involved a trip to the woods to find a scraggly white pine, which was then laden with lights and decoration, almost to the point of collapse. I don't recall too many other decorations, though special Christmas food and candy was prevalent.
Our tradition was to get up very, very early to see what Santa had brought, then, when everyone was up, we would tear through all the wrapped presents without any order or delay. We got plenty of loot, but it could not have been expensive loot, because we had so little money.
We were a pretty close family and everyone wanted to be together. The food and fun abounded, so no one paid that much attention to the gifts, though they were a central part of Christmas mornings. We centered Christmas in the Living Room, and it had a fireplace, so every Christmas we built a fire and burned a good bit of wrapping paper, but fortunately never had a chimney fire.
Christmas was pretty much the KEY holiday of the year, and was much anticipated. There wasn't much stress, at least from our perspective. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, and the weather varied, but our family pleasures seemed pretty independent of all that.
We probably have preserved a lot more of the tradition than I realize. Our own artificial tree still bears ornaments from our old family decorations. But much of family is the pleasant memories that arise from times past. And, though I don't recall many specifics, I do clearly recall Christmas being a fun, family, loving time.
And that's enough.
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