I am originally from West Virginia. No, my family didn’t live in a “holler” or work in the coal mines. All of my sisters have their own teeth and no one has a car up on blocks in her front yard. We grew up in a middle class neighborhood in one of the larger cities in the state. Family, Church and High School football were the topics most discussed in aisle ten at K-Mart (Wal-Mart didn’t come along until later) and Christmas was a month long community celebration!
I remember as a kid riding around in my Dad’s station wagon (you know, the kind with the wood paneling on the sides) singing carols and looking at Christmas Lights. I can still remember the house on Rayon Drive with the Clark Griswold-type décor. I’m not sure when the design gene kicked in for me, but I am quite sure I didn’t possess it back then. At that age, I don’t remember ever having any sense that plastic Santas and eight foot tall snowmen covered in twinkle lights, were anything but spectacular!
My Grandparents never had flashy decorations adorning their house, but they had a huge picture window in the living room and the Christmas tree always stood in front of it. I loved driving up and seeing the lights on the tree and to this day just thinking about it, I am awash in the toasty feelings of home!
Christmas Eve was THE most special day of the year for us. My grandparents hosted the festivities every year. My sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles and parents assembled in this bastion of family warmth and love. I can still see the Christmas card basket hanging on the mantle and the three tiered serving tray which held Grandma’s famous black walnut fudge, and nearly every sweet known to modern man!
The tree was covered in home-made ornaments, glass balls they had kept for years, and LOTS and LOTS of Icicles! Not the wispy kind they sell now, these were heavy metallic Icicles and the tree simply shimmered!
More Christmas Eve traditions to come…
Until next time…Merry Christmas today and every day…
Aunt Zip
I remember as a kid riding around in my Dad’s station wagon (you know, the kind with the wood paneling on the sides) singing carols and looking at Christmas Lights. I can still remember the house on Rayon Drive with the Clark Griswold-type décor. I’m not sure when the design gene kicked in for me, but I am quite sure I didn’t possess it back then. At that age, I don’t remember ever having any sense that plastic Santas and eight foot tall snowmen covered in twinkle lights, were anything but spectacular!
My Grandparents never had flashy decorations adorning their house, but they had a huge picture window in the living room and the Christmas tree always stood in front of it. I loved driving up and seeing the lights on the tree and to this day just thinking about it, I am awash in the toasty feelings of home!
Christmas Eve was THE most special day of the year for us. My grandparents hosted the festivities every year. My sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles and parents assembled in this bastion of family warmth and love. I can still see the Christmas card basket hanging on the mantle and the three tiered serving tray which held Grandma’s famous black walnut fudge, and nearly every sweet known to modern man!
The tree was covered in home-made ornaments, glass balls they had kept for years, and LOTS and LOTS of Icicles! Not the wispy kind they sell now, these were heavy metallic Icicles and the tree simply shimmered!
More Christmas Eve traditions to come…
Until next time…Merry Christmas today and every day…
Aunt Zip
