Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Remembering Christmas decorations


Cars of beauty and art:
 The 1956 Sky Hawk, A Studebaker

 I just came from (https://thenanadiana.blogspot.com/2018/11/christmas-fantasy-house_13.html) Nana Diana’s blog. She has a tour of a Christmas house. Fantastic decorations. Things set me to thinking. Back up in Gaston County the little mill town of 

 McAdenville has earned the title Christmas Town. I wouldn’t want to live there during Christmas season.  The Mill owner used to pay the town power bill for the month of December.  Now that is no longer a mill village, I don’t know if there is any compensation to the residents. There is one main street and it is a constant procession from dark until 9PM for over a month. 

There are people who decorate elaborately in every town. So much so that parades of cars drive by. As I said, I started thinking, at times that is dangerous, but Old people do that.  


The earliest I remember Christmas is about 1943. We lived in a community of High Shoals, we were actually in the country. Daddy and mama would drive up to Lincolnton, a few miles away. We would walk the downtown streets looking in store windows. They were closed of course. Back then everything closed at 5 or 6PM. It was the Jewelry Stores that always caught my interest. The music boxes with little dancers’ spinning and ALWAYS an electric train going around the window loaded with little toys. At near 80 years old I still remember the thrill of standing there until I was forced to get in the car.

Later living in towns, daddy would drive us around to see the Christmas Decorations. Downtowns were the only places with outdoor decorations. Just seeing the lighted Christmas trees in every house window was a thrill.
I remember when no one would dare start decorating until after the Thanksgiving Festivities. Thanksgiving was a time of GREAT EATING, Thanks and Food was the King.
 
BUT Christmas was the time of gifts. Most kids got ONE gift. You could about list them on your hand. Toys were, cowboy pistol and holster, baseballs and gloves, Skates were big. BUT, oh man, when you actually got a bike or a BB gun, which was super. Walky-Talkies and Plastic helmets with a wooden gun.


Kids were out to show everyone what they got for Christmas. Funny how kids could appreciate the time and love from that gift.
I know it will not come back, simple can be fun, even today. But not much is simple to this old man anymore.
Nite Shipslog

10 comments:

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Lisa said...

Oh I remember. It was such a thrill to head out to main street on Thanksgiving Night. Thats when the lights turned on in McAdenville and Main Street. The simpleist string of flikering lights would make a big thrill. I remember the toys. They were a surprise. and yes, A bike was a big deal.
Oh the memories...
Lisa

Glenda said...

Thank you for bringing to mind Christmases of days gone by!

Mevely317 said...

Nostalgique!
Not for me … my parents went overboard gifting their only child. But your words echo those I remember coming out of my mother's mouth. When she and daddy were first married they'd delight in walking downtown sidewalks and gazing into the pretty picture windows. Too, she remembers receiving only one Christmas gift each year. I wonder if children weren't more appreciative then.

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

The Thanksgiving Day parade was always the kick off of Christmas for me. I remember the excitement of the first appearance of Santa. I miss the decorated store windows. Not many of those around any more, but lots of people here do decorate their house for Christmas. Inside and out. Life is simple for me as I seem to do less and less every year, but Christmas is and always has been my favorite holiday. So full of wonder and joy!

betty said...

I remember going to see the Christmas lights downtown when I was growing up. Such a thrilling time. With our own kids growing up, we too had the tradition of getting a hot chocolate and then driving around and looking at the different neighborhoods all decorated. When we were growing up in Southern California, there were two streets that always decorated every year. One was Candy Cane Lane where everyone had a big lighted candy cane in their yard and the other was Christmas Wreath Circle, obviously with a lighted wreath in their yards. Neighborhoods changed and only one of them still carry the tradition, but I'm sure that will go the way side before long. Great memories this blog brought to me!

Already our next door neighbor has their lights on (but then they never took the lights off last year so it was easy to just plug them in LOL)


betty

Chatty Crone said...

I have to tell you - you have the best memory of anyone I have ever known. Now I don't think something is wrong with my mind - yet - but I don't remember yesterday. I have forgotten most of my past. You remember that the first Christmas you remember was in 1943.

I do love Christmas tho. I always wanted to go to the northeast and be in a real village where the Hallmark movies are made - lol.

Love, Sandie

Dar said...

My favorite past Christmas memory was when I was 8. I knew that the majorette outfit in chocolate brown and hot pink silk was handmade by ' my ' Mrs. Claus, and my one gift was a baton. What a Christmas that was for this wide-eyed child dreaming of leading the band one day in the Christmas Parade...thanks for triggering a very fond memory. While on the subject of Christmas Past, my favorite ornaments on Mama's tree to this day, are her antique paper ornaments of little girls holding toys.
love n' hugs from up north to you both. It got down to zero degrees last night. brrrrrrrrrrr

Rick Watson said...

We used to drive around and look at Christmas lights too. It was one of my favorite things to do during the holidays.