Warm memories of past Christmases: Letters

On Christmas morning — and not before — we would place the baby Jesus into the manger and my mother would lead us in singing happy birthday to him. After that it was time for mass and then we sat down to breakfast before opening presents.

When breakfast was finally over, we'd line up — youngest to oldest — in front of the living room doors which had been tied together. Then my mother would open the white-louvred doors and we'd burst into the room, racing for the tree, but blinded by the glare of the huge movie floodlights as my father captured the chaos on silent, black and white, 8-millimeter film.

My mother had a knack for choosing just the right gift, like my Campbell’s Soup chuckwagon or my sister’s Tiny Tears doll.

She managed to make six stockings exciting year-after-year and put what we wanted under the tree while making sure we didn’t lose the meaning of Christmas. A quality we children all tried to emulate as adults.

Elaine O'Reilly, Ottawa

The joy of making everyone happy

Every Christmas, one memory stands out. This happened one year at a family Christmas gathering.

Nearly every weekend during the 1940s and ’50s, my family would gather at our grandmother's house with most of the aunts, uncles and cousins. There were 13 grandchildren in all.

At Christmas, it was my job to distribute the gifts from our family to the cousins, which I was so proud and happy to do it.

That year, shortly after the task was complete, I noticed one of the girl cousins was crying. I wondered what was wrong, then saw that she was the only one without a gift.

I had neglected to give her a present! I quickly found it and she was all smiles. To this day I am grateful that the girl’s gift hadn’t been forgotten and I was able to correct my error.

Zig Elles, Orangeville

Considerate granddaughter is our greatest gift

One of our most beloved granddaughters, her husband, and three children live in Maryland, U.S.A.

She is the kindest, warmest, most considerate and respectful person one would want to have as part of the family. She makes sure to share all celebrations and festival occasions with us old folks, by calling us, sending pictures, messages, and face-timing almost everyday, so we can talk to the kids and be involved in their lives.

One such event occurred just a few days ago, when she face-timed us as the children lit the first Hanukkah candle and we sang the candlelighting prayer together. Then, they opened the Hanukkah gift box with its plethora of gifts and chocolate “Hanukkah gelt” we had sent them. All the squeals and excitement reverberating through their home as they pulled out each item warmed our hearts.

What a blessing it was and will always be for us two old great grandparents!

Sophie Soil, Thornhill

Simple Christmases are just as memorable

The majority of our relatives immigrated from Sicily in the early 1960s and Christmas Eve was a great opportunity for the extended family to get together. In addition to our family of seven, up to 30 other family members would join us in our family’s two bedroom apartment with one bathroom. The festivities would begin in the evening and carry on until one or two a.m. My mother was in the small kitchen preparing food as the rest of us were crammed in the dining and living rooms. You can only imagine the noise level generated by so many people in such small places. The fun included a card game called Zicanetta. Virtually everyone would play and the game would carry on for hours. We would later trek to the church for midnight mass and then we would eat Mom’s very tasty, enjoyable meal. My father’s homemade wine was eagerly consumed. As new immigrants, with tight budgets, these simple, inexpensive pleasures in a time of year where celebrations were expected were very much appreciated.

Charles Campisi, Oakville

A Christmas concert performed by world leaders

Maybe it was the eggnog consumed before going to bed that precipitated a strange dream about a Christmas Carol Concert put on by political leaders from around the world.

It began with “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” performed by French President Emmanuel Macron, which seemed quite logical, given his name, and all.

Next came German Chancellor Olaf Scholz with his rendition of “O Tannenbaum.” Again, quite logical as the first decorated tree dates to the Cathedral of Strasbourg at Christmas 1539, believe it or not.

Things became a tad more complicated when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sang “The Little Drummer Boy.” Remembering the time he spends flying between world capitals with cap in hand, drumming up money and armaments to prolong war against his Russian invaders, things fell into place.

No surprise that the Kremlin's protagonist would also be occupying centre stage, and Vladimir Putin chose the popular song from Mariah Carey “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” However, Mad Vlad had to change the lyrics just a little to: “All I Want For Christmas Is You-Kraine.”

Another slight change for Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau who was born on Dec. 25 to his mother Maggie. He chose the calypso-styled “Mary’s Boy Child,” with lyrics revised to “Maggie’s man-child, juvenescent Justin, was born on Christmas Day.”

Next was “O Little Town Of Bethlehem” performed by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His iron fist grips today’s inhabitants of that fabled town in the Occupied West Bank.

When U.S. President Joe Biden slowly made his way on stage, there were expectations he may sing “Old Man Winter,” or some age-related carol. His poll numbers are falling rapidly, so he chose to address the Blue States controlled by his Democratic Party, singing Elvis Presley's favourite “Blue Christmas.”

Last up was the entertainer-in-chief Donald Trump, and I wondered how he would close out my dreamland concert. His song and dance rendition of “Deck The Halls” seemed a little out of place in his red MAGA hat; but the meaningless chorus made perfect sense coming from him: “Fa-La-La-La-La…La-La-La-La!”

At that point I awoke, just in time to wish all in the newsroom and all your readers, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Bernie Smith, Parksville, B.C.