My Christmas Memories

12/24/2009 5:45:18 AM
CHRISTMAS EVE MORNING:

I had to do a 30 second video of Madeline’s Christmas presents. Sally wrapped up the presents in front of me last night. She informed me that ONE of the presents were from her Grandpa-My. J

I’ll help load the VAN and then head for 6th & Gage. The geese & ducks need me.

I used to like Christmas. I don’t anymore.

PAST CHRISTMAS:

Perhaps one of my most favorite Christmas times were during my formidable years.
I grew up on a farm NE of Bruce SD

Some of my previous writings were who the players in my life were.

A “normal” Christmas for me follows:

On Dec 24th , we, my family, would prepare for the birth of Jesus. This may sound weird, but we REALLY did have the birth of Jesus as the center of our lives.

I would do the chores, feeding the animals, etc. and my job was to get some ice to make ice cream. So I would kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.

The cattle needed to drink water from the Sioux river. The silage was also in the same area. So I would walk down to the river with an axe, fork & an ice bucket.

I would then open the river for the cattle, place the ice in the bucket and head back to the farm, some ¼ mile east of the river.

Mom would make the homemade ice cream. My job was to hand cranking the ice cream to perfection. It was always rewarding to open the lid and slurp the fins clean. Those were fun days! Later DAD purchased a motorized maker, making ice cream less fun.

Later on towards evening, the BIG moment would arrive!

Am I referring to Santa? .. NO !

After chores, we would eat. My parents, mainly MOM, would make fun Norwegian food. I even liked Lutefisk, still do.

Later on my uncle John and Susie Bergh would come over from Volga, SD.

Of course, this KID was chomping at the bits to open presents.

But first we would have our Christian traditions.

We would all gather together, and the kids would have to recite any Christmas program parts we might have had. I attended a one room school all during my childhood and Mrs. Bombeck would have us do the Christmas school program. One year I think I was a Shepard. Of course with only 8 kids or so, there was NOT that many choices.

So us kids would have to recite our parts to the “fam.”

Then we would ALL sing various Christmas songs. We had no piano or musical instruments in our possessions, so we all sang memory. That was FUN!

Singing Silent night was my favorite, still is.

So WHEN are we going to open presents? I’m getting impatient!

NOT so FAST!

Next we would have to read the Bible.

Uncle John would read the Gospel of Luke to us. Us kids would know the story by heart. This kid wanted to open presents. Who cares about some kid being born in a manger story?! There are presents under the Charlie Brown tree

Uncle John (John Holter’s namesake) Bergh would lead us in prayer.

Can we open presents now?

FINALLY!

One year my sisters boxed up a present for me. It was a big truck.

We had no money for such expensive presents.

I remember my mother once asking me if it would be all right if there was not a whole lot of presents under the tree this year. I found out later that DAD had just purchased a ¼ section of land and we were poor. I could care less.

My childhood Christmas days were one of true joy!

I yearn to go back to those days.

OH WELL!

I guess I’ll post this to our web.

The fowls are going to be having a visit.

I AM not invited to witness my only grand child’s Christmas again this year… Third annual.

Myron@myownfaith2.com