Christmas Memories
Christmas is a special time of year when we celebrate Jesus’ birth and gather with family and friends. It’s an exciting time for children as they anticipate opening gifts. Had their parents or Santa Clause delivered the presents they had wished for?
Long ago, children hung stockings by the fireplace for Santa to fill with little gifts. Oranges were a welcome gift as it was difficult to get fresh fruit in the middle of a northern winter. Children who had been good could expect nice things, while those who had been bad might get a lump of coal. I never heard of anyone getting a lump of coal. I don’t think children are bad, but sometimes they do bad things.
When I was a young boy we didn’t get many gifts- usually one or two from our parents and maybe something from Santa Clause. I have many fond memories of my childhood Christmas’s but very few recollections of gifts I received. My big gift was the Lionel train set I got when I was five or six years old. My Mom, Eunice, said my Dad, Aaron, was more excited than I. When I was about twelve I got a nice bow and arrow set I had wished for. My most vivid memory was a bag of mixed nuts my grandma, Clara Torgerson, gave me when I was nine or ten. Nuts in their shells were a big Christmas treat- walnuts, pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, and Brazil nuts. But this was not very exciting for a young boy. Grandma could see the disappointment on my face, and could barely keep from laughing. Then she told me to open the bag, and there were silver dollars hidden inside. It was a great gift! I don’t recall gifts from my Huseby Grandparents, Bennie and Amanda, but their presence in my life is most important.
We opened our presents Christmas Eve, and it seemed like the time would never come. The cows had to be milked and all the chores done first. When I was old enough to help I always had a good feeling as it seemed the animals were more special at Christmas. We made sure they had plenty of good clean bedding, a big helping of hay, and maybe a little extra grain. That old barn always felt so warm on a cold Christmas night.
We usually had a light supper that traditionally included oyster stew. This was made of rich milk, butter, pepper, and of course, oysters. Not everyone ate the oysters, or “bugs” as we called them. But all liked the stew, especially when lots of oyster crackers were added. Finally, we’d gather around the tree and open our presents.
One Christmas Dad decided we didn’t need to buy a tree- he could make one out of pine branches gathered from our grove. He wired them together and it looked pretty good, but Mom never let him do it again.
Christmas Day was the time for extended family to gather- the Husebys or Torgersons. We usually had a traditional Norwegian dinner- lutefisk and lefse, potatoes, meatballs with gravy, rutabagas, and of course lots of cookies and sweets. Mom would make cookies, rosettes, krumkake, and sandbakkles before Christmas, and store them on the attic steps to keep them cool. (cold?) Sometimes a small boy would sneak a few cookies off the tops of the cookie jars and hope they wouldn’t be noticed. But moms are smarter than small boys so she always knew. She would say “Mice have been in the cookie s again.”
Church was important. Sometimes we went to the Midnight service at Marshall Lutheran Church, a little white country church that looked like a Christmas card. We had Christmas Eve programs at the old Little Cedar Lutheran Church in Adams. Our children’s choir was led by Miss Holte and she was very demanding. We practiced long and hard, striving for perfection in three part harmony. I can still hear her saying repeatedly “one more time”. I liked to sing and had a decent voice so she put me in a quartet with three of the cutest girls in my class. I always enjoyed those programs. The church always seemed so different at night with all the lights turned down. There was something magical about those Christmas Eves.
One night that wasn’t so magical happened before I was school age. Our family sat in the front row of the balcony. I had a lemon drop in my mouth and when I leaned over the railing the lemon drop “dropped” out. I suppose it hit someone below, but I kept my mouth shut, as I should have done before, and I never heard more of the incident.
I liked Christmas music even at a young age. One of my favorites was Silent Night. There was a line about Mother and Child and I thought there must be a father too. But who was Round John Virgin? When I learned to read I realized it was “round yon Virgin Mother and Child.”
Christmas is still a wonderful time of year. The memories we make are more precious than the gifts we receive.
Long ago, children hung stockings by the fireplace for Santa to fill with little gifts. Oranges were a welcome gift as it was difficult to get fresh fruit in the middle of a northern winter. Children who had been good could expect nice things, while those who had been bad might get a lump of coal. I never heard of anyone getting a lump of coal. I don’t think children are bad, but sometimes they do bad things.
When I was a young boy we didn’t get many gifts- usually one or two from our parents and maybe something from Santa Clause. I have many fond memories of my childhood Christmas’s but very few recollections of gifts I received. My big gift was the Lionel train set I got when I was five or six years old. My Mom, Eunice, said my Dad, Aaron, was more excited than I. When I was about twelve I got a nice bow and arrow set I had wished for. My most vivid memory was a bag of mixed nuts my grandma, Clara Torgerson, gave me when I was nine or ten. Nuts in their shells were a big Christmas treat- walnuts, pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, and Brazil nuts. But this was not very exciting for a young boy. Grandma could see the disappointment on my face, and could barely keep from laughing. Then she told me to open the bag, and there were silver dollars hidden inside. It was a great gift! I don’t recall gifts from my Huseby Grandparents, Bennie and Amanda, but their presence in my life is most important.
We opened our presents Christmas Eve, and it seemed like the time would never come. The cows had to be milked and all the chores done first. When I was old enough to help I always had a good feeling as it seemed the animals were more special at Christmas. We made sure they had plenty of good clean bedding, a big helping of hay, and maybe a little extra grain. That old barn always felt so warm on a cold Christmas night.
We usually had a light supper that traditionally included oyster stew. This was made of rich milk, butter, pepper, and of course, oysters. Not everyone ate the oysters, or “bugs” as we called them. But all liked the stew, especially when lots of oyster crackers were added. Finally, we’d gather around the tree and open our presents.
One Christmas Dad decided we didn’t need to buy a tree- he could make one out of pine branches gathered from our grove. He wired them together and it looked pretty good, but Mom never let him do it again.
Christmas Day was the time for extended family to gather- the Husebys or Torgersons. We usually had a traditional Norwegian dinner- lutefisk and lefse, potatoes, meatballs with gravy, rutabagas, and of course lots of cookies and sweets. Mom would make cookies, rosettes, krumkake, and sandbakkles before Christmas, and store them on the attic steps to keep them cool. (cold?) Sometimes a small boy would sneak a few cookies off the tops of the cookie jars and hope they wouldn’t be noticed. But moms are smarter than small boys so she always knew. She would say “Mice have been in the cookie s again.”
Church was important. Sometimes we went to the Midnight service at Marshall Lutheran Church, a little white country church that looked like a Christmas card. We had Christmas Eve programs at the old Little Cedar Lutheran Church in Adams. Our children’s choir was led by Miss Holte and she was very demanding. We practiced long and hard, striving for perfection in three part harmony. I can still hear her saying repeatedly “one more time”. I liked to sing and had a decent voice so she put me in a quartet with three of the cutest girls in my class. I always enjoyed those programs. The church always seemed so different at night with all the lights turned down. There was something magical about those Christmas Eves.
One night that wasn’t so magical happened before I was school age. Our family sat in the front row of the balcony. I had a lemon drop in my mouth and when I leaned over the railing the lemon drop “dropped” out. I suppose it hit someone below, but I kept my mouth shut, as I should have done before, and I never heard more of the incident.
I liked Christmas music even at a young age. One of my favorites was Silent Night. There was a line about Mother and Child and I thought there must be a father too. But who was Round John Virgin? When I learned to read I realized it was “round yon Virgin Mother and Child.”
Christmas is still a wonderful time of year. The memories we make are more precious than the gifts we receive.