Spectrum Monthly Holiday Shopper Special Edition 2019

It is
The Twelfth Month - A Bit of Nostalgia
difficult to express our opinion about
December. It is so special and means many
different things to each one of us.
The main event, of course, is Christmas, the celebration
of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Is this not what
Christmas should be about?
However, commercialism has intervened to a great
extent. Halloween candy is not off the counters yet
when Santa Claus is on dis-play. Have we lost the
true meaning of Christmas?
The hustle and bustle of shopping. The crowds,
the rush. Oh, how I wish we could slow it all
down. Go back to the “old days” when Dad
chopped down the tree and it was trimmed
by all the family. Home cooked pop-corn
sewed together on a string then carefully
put on the tree much the same way we
use garland today.
Ornaments handed down from one
generation to another. Some I still have
today All hand painted glass and so
delicate. I have my own special little
tree, aside form the regular one, that
is all mine! Displayed are the old
ornaments, now faded and dull but to me still so beautiful.
Dad always brought home the tree about three days before
Christmas. How exciting it was! A trip was made to the attic
where the stand was dug out. The trunk of the tree was cut
to fit and we were all set to decorate.
We did not have the stands that held water then so no one
thought much about the tree drying out. The needles did
drop, but then we were not so foolish as to leave the tree
in the house more than two or three days after Christmas.
As I wrote this, my youngest daughter, Kim, asked me, “Ma,
did you have the real candles?” I said, “Come on now, I’m
not that old!” I don’t quite go back to the days when real
candles adorned the tree. However, 1 can remember my
grandmother telling me when she was a small child they
did have them. What courage they had! There must have
been someone on guard at all times. But how splendid it
must have been to see the tree aglow with living lights!
My Dad always had the job of testing the lights. There must
be many of us who remember when one bulb went out the
whole string did. Every bulb had to be tested till at last you
found the culprit that fouled up the whole string.
Christmas morning was something else. The anticipation
was almost too much. We never put our gifts under the
tree as we do today. My mom would hang two of her silk
stockings on either side of the mantle and fill them with
practically every item from the 5 & 10. My sister and I were
I lucky, as there were only the two of us so we were very
spoiled. Do you know how far a silk stocking can stretch?!
Mother tried so hard to have everything come out equal
and that’s difficult. I’ve been trying to do this for four
children for years. Now there are twelve with the addition
of husbands and grandchildren, but I still try. Where have all
those days of long ago gone?
They have not disappeared by a long shot. I know of many
families who still carry on the traditions of those past years.
Perhaps Dad does not chop down the tree. It may be storebought,
but the love is there.
The glow of what is to come shines in the eyes of the
children. The anticipation of Santa, the gifts ... yes -but it is
more than that, much more!
The light that shines is love. The love of family and friends.
Without this love and the love of our Lord Jesus Christ, how
empty our lives would be.
A Very Merry Christmas to You All!
Barbara A. Hoyt Hanlon
KEEPING YOU ON THE ROAD SINCE 1992
1000 SECOND STREET,
MANCHESTER, NH
(NEXT TO TACO BELL)
Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-6pm
(603) 645-6551
www.dandlautomanchester.com
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