Thanksgiving and Christmas Memories

Holiday Memories

One of my favorite songs is from the movie, “The Way We Were” with music orchestrated by the incomparable Marvin Hamlisch. It is a poignant song that hearkens us back to what a lot of us consider the “good ole days”. Here is just a small verse from that classic which was number one for 1974:

Can it be that it was all so simple then?

Or has time re-written every line?

If we had the chance to do it all again

Tell me, would we? Could we?

As I listened to the words, it made me think about how the Holidays used to be in our country. Currently, most stores are regaled with Christmas decorations and radio stations across the nation started playing Holiday songs at the beginning of November. Back in the “good ole days” only Thanksgiving decorations were displayed and decorated Christmas trees and other items did not appear until all of us put down that last drumstick and piece of pumpkin pie. Having said that here are some other long lost memories:

Christmas cards had hand written messages inside and all were signed. No printed names inside the card from the sender.

Carolers came to our door at night – sang a couple of Christmas songs and left without asking for a donation.

Santa arrived on Thanksgiving Day in a parade and opened shop the next day at the various stores and malls.

There were few fake Christmas trees back then and Scotch pine was the most popular tree.

All stores were closed on Thanksgiving Day giving employees an opportunity to spend the special day with family and friends. Incidentally, there are some major stores that have bucked the trend to be open and have decided that being with family on this holiday is more important and thus will not be open. Here is just a small listing of these family oriented stores: Dillard’s, Home Goods, IKEA, Costco, Jos. A Bank, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Sam’s Club, T.J. Max, Marshalls and Lowe’s. Hopefully, next year maybe more stores will become family oriented and this will become a trend!

The movie, “Miracle On 34th Street” was in black and white. Now we have the colorized version and even an updated version with different actors. The original from 1947 is still the best! And what are the holidays without viewing “It’s A Wonderful Life” or “Christmas Vacation” or the incomparable “Home Alone”.

Children these days have no idea what it means to find a lump of coal in their sock! Back when we were growing up in the Dark Ages, most homes in the community had coal burning furnaces. So to signal that a child perhaps was a bit naughty, Santa would leave some coal in the sock that was hanging from the mantel.

These days Christmas trees are well manicured at nurseries before being set out for sale. I can remember looking for a tree in a lot that one could place in the corner of the home because it was rare to find a Scotch pine that was perfectly cylindrical!

Christmas songs certainly have changed over the years. Now we have “Grandma being run over by a reindeer” and of course “Dominick The Italian Donkey.” Some songs from the early days now have different meanings today. Judy Garland introduced “Have yourself a merry little Christmas” in the movie “Meet Me In St. Louis” with the line “Make the yuletide gay.” Obviously hearing that song today takes on a whole new meaning.

Back when we heard the song “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” we thought nothing of the line: “A pistol that shoots is the wish of Barney and Ben.” Today, when we hear that line, we wince.

Christmas trees now come with colorful lights that are sewed into the tree and when one light goes out, all the remaining ones stay alighted. How many of you remember testing an entire string of lights with a new bulb just to locate the burned out culprit? Back then lights were in a series until someone invented parallel connections!

One of our favorite treats during the Holiday Season was plum pudding. J.L. Hudson’s used to have the best plum pudding topped with hard sauce. Somehow during the transition to Marshall Field’s and then to Macy’s, that recipe must have been lost because it is no longer on the menu much to our disappointment.

Soldiers in various battlefields could always look forward to seeing Bob Hope on one of his USO tours. Yes, his jokes were lame and predictable but it brought laughter and fun to our brave troops who were away from home during the Holidays. And Hope’s bevy of beauties that accompanied him were a welcome sight too. In that regard, wonder if one of the entertainers, Charo, can still do the Cuchi Cuchi now that she is sixty-five years old?

Another bygone tradition would be the Christmas entertainment television shows from Perry Como, Bing Crosby, and Andy Williams. The shows were always family friendly. Andy started the extravagant sweater routine – Perry mastered entertaining us always in a tuxedo – and Bing surprised us by performing a duet of “The Little Drummer Boy” with then bad boy David Bowie. That duet has become a Christmas classic!

And finally, one of the bygone traditions that really needs to be restored is the exchange of the “Merry Christmas” greeting. Let’s stop all the malarkey about a Holiday tree instead of a Christmas tree for starters and replace the “Happy Holiday” signs with the true meaning of December 25 – MERRY CHRISTMAS! So if you encounter me during this season, I will be wishing you a Merry Christmas because political correctness is not a part of my world! And as a follow-up to that, Nativity scenes should never be banned in public places!

So there you have it – Christmas memories and traditions that have served us well over the years. I no doubt have left some out that you remember, such as Gene Autry singing “Frosty the Snowman” – maybe you remember J.L. Hudson’s 12th floor toy store in downtown Detroit – or midnight Mass at your favorite parish church, maybe gone but still imbedded in our fondest Christmas memories!

And speaking of times past, this column is best read with background music from orchestra leader John William’s rendition of “Somewhere In My Memory” from the movie “Home Alone.” So tell me – if we had the chance to do it all again – would we – could we? I sure hope so!

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!