Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - Christmas Music

As I've mentioned before I love Christmas music. One of my favorite Christmas songs is "I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day." Originally a poem written in December 1863 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow called Christmas Bells, it is the release of personal tragedy and hard times as only a poet can write.

Longfellow had lost his wife in 1861 after her clothing caught on fire while lighting a candle. The family was in the midst of the Civil War and Longfellow was dealing with the realities of raising a family as a single parent. On top of all this his son, Charles Appleton Longfellow, ran away to enlist in the Union Army in March 1863.

Lieutenant Charles Appleton Longfellow, Co. G, 1st Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment 

Lt. Longfellow was severely injured November 27, 1863 at the battle of New Hope Church, Virginia. His father learned of his wound when a journalist found Lt. Longsfellow and cabled the poet to tell him it was a grievous wound. Longfellow and his son Ernest Wadsworth traveled to Washington, D.C. to find him, spending several days in a search for him not knowing if they would find him alive or dead. After some time they did find Lt. Longsfellow and were able to bring him home to recover. The torment of the loss of his wife, the Civil War and fears for his son come through his poetic words, especially in the sixth stanza.
 

Christmas Bells

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,

The belfries of all Christendom

Had rolled along

The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till, ringing, singing on its way,

The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent

The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, goodwill to men!”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead ; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!”

The poem was set to music sometime after 1872 by John Baptise Calkin with later versions by Joseph Mainzer and Johnny Marks. The fourth and fifth stanzas, those that speak directly about the Civil War, are no longer heard in popular renditions of the song.

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - Holiday Shopping at the Small Mall

My very first job was as an elf at the Small Mall in Antioch Center, a mall in Kansas City, Missouri. The mall was north of the river and was only a few blocks from my house. I don't even know if I could drive that first year. I was even surprised to have gotten the job, but perhaps it helped that several of my friends had already secured a spot and put in a good word.

The Small Mall was a special shopping area built in the middle of the mall's main aisle, made to look like Santa's workshop. Children were allowed to go shopping in the Small Mall, without their parents, to buy small gifts for family members. They entered on one end with a money and a list (made with the help of mom and dad) of who they needed to shop for. As an elf, it was my job to help them determine what they could afford and ensure they got something for everyone on their list. The gifts were all inexpensive, usually plastic animals, picture frames, etc. But the children loved being "grown-up" and doing shopping by themselves. I distinctly remember trying to convince one young shopper that all her recipients would not enjoy small plastic rats, to no avail. After they made their purchases, each one was wrapped in brown lunch bags and they met their parents on the other side.

At the time, I don't think I realized how cool the concept was. Now that I'm a parent I really wish something like my Small Mall still existed. What a great way to teach a child about giving...even if it is just a rat.

There is a Santa Claus



A reprint from 1949.

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - Grab bag - Advent Calendars

My family has always used advent calendars to count down the days to Christmas. As I have mentioned before, my mother worked at Hallmark Cards for many years and our first advent calendars came from there. The early ones were simple paper calendars like this lovely number (which can be bought on eBay I might add):

Some years school fundraisers would offer the advent calendars with chocolate, but I always thought the chocolate tasted a little sketchy, so I wasn't a big fan of those.

When we moved to Germany in 2005 the tradition of the chocolate advent calendar came back around, but with sketchy chocolate removed...somehow their chocolate tasted better.

This is an advent calendar that we bought in Germany and carried with us from there to Kansas City for the holidays. We couldn't miss any days of chocolate!

Now we have added our children in the spirit. Here is our current advent calendar, which is even more sweet as you can put chocolate or small toys in each door. The first thing my son asks me every morning is if he can "do the train."

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - Christmas at School

In my family, Christmas at school meant music. Choir and orchestra filled our days throughout our school years. If I wasn't going to my own concerts, I was heading to my brother's.

My favorite school Christmas memories come from show choir. The Harmonaires, a show choir at North Kansas City High School in North Kansas City, Missouri, sang Christmas music the entire month of December. Not only did the choir sing at the annual Christmas concert, but small groups also sang Christmas carols for local Christmas parties as a fund raiser. There is something about Christmas carols in four-part harmony that makes the season even brighter.

I vividly remember the fear I felt when at one such fundraising carol-singing session, my director, Jerry Carpenter, made me sing a solo. It was one of the only times I have ever sung on my own (I was born to be a back-up singer). I can't remember the song now...but it was one with an interesting Alto part, because I sang it as an Alto. My junior year I missed all of the caroling sessions because I had the chicken pox. Sweet.

Christmas choir concerts were so much fun. There were always some traditional Christmas classics and then some wacky songs as well.

Harmonaires singing Fruitcake in 1992 (I think).

How many choir geeks have awful photos like this, I ask. Regardless, this is a photo of the Harmonaires singing the song Fruitcake, arranged by Philip Hagemann & Penny Leka. It's a song about the different ingredients of a fruitcake, but with the proper inflections here and there...it's a riot!

This song has a long tradition at our school. I'm not sure when it started, but my brother sang it in the late 80s, I sang it 1993 or 1994 and they are still singing it today. Luckily Unfortunately, I don't have any video proof my year singing the song, but here is a taste of a more current year (2010).

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - Traditions - White Christmas

The best Christmas movie of all time is Irving Berlin's White Christmas. In our family, this is a never-missed movie. We watch it every year, often on Christmas Eve and usually with yummy, fattening snacks. Every time we watch it my mom cries. I never understood why, but now that I'm older I think I understand. Every time we watch it Dad says the same comment during the same scene. At first it was annoying, but now it just isn't Christmas without it! During "The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing," a song and dance scene with Danny Kaye and Vera Ellen, my father always says, "I love how men used to match their shoes to their suits." Ah, so endearing! It is hard to pinpoint a favorite scene, but I think it would have to be a scene in World War II, when Bing Crosby is singing White Christmas to the troops and you can just sense the longing for home on the Soldiers faces. A wonderful movie with a phenomenal soundtrack!

Advent Calendar of Christmas memories - Christmas Gifts

My father is the best at finding just the right Christmas present. I can only think of a few bombs in the 30-some-odd-years he has been shopping for me. I'm actually very jealous of his skills. One of my most memorable gifts was a Lionel train that was set up under the tree. And one year I received a beautiful set of white furniture with gold accents. It included a canopy bed that made me feel just like a princess, which is odd because I was not very girly. I loved that furniture, and later in life I would use the canopy bars to play stuffed-animal baseball, but that is a story for another time.

Myself, my brother and our dog Sandy. Note the sweet white bed in the background. You can also just see a GI Joe box for my brother.

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - Grab bag - Christmas playlist

Christmas music is one of my favorite genres. In fact, my playlist of Christmas songs is longer than any other on my iPod. But I digress. Here is my list of all time favorite Christmas songs (I stopped at 16, but it could be much, much longer)...

1. White Christmas - Bing Crosby
2. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - U2
3. Santa Claus is Coming to Town - Bruce Springsteen
4. Hard Candy Christmas - Dolly Parton
5. Twelve Days of Christmas - John Denver and the Muppets
6. Happy Xmas (War is Over) - John Lennon
7. Christmas Time is Here - Vince Guaraldi Trio
8. The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole
9. Hallelujah Chorus, Handel's Messiah - Morman Tabernacle Choir
10. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Judy Garland
11. I'll Be Home For Christmas - Frank Sinatra
12. Jingle Bells - Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters
13. Santa Baby - Eartha Kitt and Henri Rene
14. Baby, It's Cold Outside - Dean Martin
15. Oh Holy Night - Perry Como and The Ray Charles Singers
16. Ave Maria - Leontyne Price, Choir of Men and Boys of St. Thomas Episcopal Church

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - Christmas Cookies

What is it about the month of December that just makes cookies taste better? I must admit that I prefer savory foods to sweet, but I very much love Christmas cookies. When I was young, holiday baking and cooking were a big part of our Christmas traditions. There were many recipes we had to make every year:

• Divinity
• Caramel fudge (some people call this penuche)
• Marshmallow fudge
• Popcorn balls
• Sugar cookies
• Lemon drop cookies

Yes, we usually made all of the above every year. Clearly we leaned a bit more to the candy side than the cookie. My mother was the sugar cookie fan and she always made some to take to our annual Christmas celebration at my grandmother's house. We didn't get all Martha Stewart fancy in our decorating. Just two to three colors of powdered sugar icing and we were done.

But, by far the cookie that we loved then and still do today was my grandmother Burnett's lemon drop cookies. It is a very simple recipe, but yummy. And without these cookies it just isn't Christmas!

Lemon Drop Cookie recipe in my mother's handwriting. Note all the "love" splotches...a much used recipe mainstay!

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - Santa Claus

Santa was a big piece to our Christmast celebrations. In fact, his arrival was the beginning of our Christmas season. Every Thanksgiving day we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, sitting in the living room eating Pillsbury cinnamon rolls. Santa is the last float in the parade and at our house, once we saw him on television the Christmast season began!

Santa Claus in the 2008 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Image by tweber1 as found on Wikimedia Commons.

I have always had a love/fear relationship with Santa. I love the idea of Santa and I have always believed in him. But I don't really need to see him in person. Perhaps he is too similar to the clowns that I am deathly afraid of. Perhaps it stems from my childhood shyness. Either way, there are no childhood photographs (that I can find) of me with Santa Claus. I don't even remember visits to Santa Claus when I was little. If there were photos I imagine they were similar to some of my husband's:

1978

There is one photograph of me with Santa...Santa dad!

Me with Santa Dad in 1993 or 1994

I do remember writing letters to Santa Claus. I believe that my Mom or Dad posted them for me. I still write letters to Santa Claus! How else would Santa know what I want?

Ruth Butler Burnett, Lois Burnett Kuhn and Warren Kuhn reading a letter from Santa in 1951.

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - Christmas Cards

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - The Tree

My family is very particular about traditions which is most evident in our celebration of the Christmas season. I love this time of year and love carrying on our traditions. This series of posts will relive those wonderful Christmas memories.

The Tree

The Christmas tree in our house was ALWAYS a live tree. No exceptions. Although there is the drama of sap and the joy of finding needles months later, there is nothing like the smell of a real Christmas tree to get one into the Christmas spirit. As a family we would travel to any of the myriad of Christmas tree farms in the area to get our tree. We would hunt and peck through the selection for hours until we found just the right one. Then my father, usually with my brother's help, would cut down the tree. Our tree was set up in my parents room for many years because my mother and father loved to look at the tree while they fell asleep. Later we moved it to the living room.

My mother worked for Hallmark Cards for 34 years and is an avid ornament collector so our Christmas tree was always covered in the special ornaments she collected from that year. Her collection made our tree was different every year. The exception were three special Hallmark ornaments that we used every year (and still do). They are made of pewter and were always the last ornaments to be hung on the tree. My brother hung the drummer boy, I hung the angel and my parents hung the snowflake.

Our tree, 1996

When I was very young I remember my father hanging a special ornament that he said came from his childhood: a white reindeer with a red nose. I believe it came from Montgomery Ward.

My father and I with our dog, Sandy. The package was a dog bed! You can just see the Rudolph ornament to the upper left of my dad's head.

One of my favorite Christmas tree memories is from my first Christmas living in my own apartment. I was too busy to get a real Christmas tree so my plan was just to put up a small fake one. One day when I came home from work I found a Christmas tree on the porch of my apartment! My parents had gotten two during their annual trip to ensure that I didn't break tradition. Wonderful! Here is how that tree turned out:

 I know, crazy classy. But I really did love PBR!