I’ve heard the saying that Christmas is for the young — and I politely disagree — I believe Christmas helps all of us recapture our youth during this beautiful season.
I realize people of all ages are burdened with a range of troubles, but for just this one season there are so many holiday related events to cheer us for just awhile. In addition, the generosity of so many people results in holiday happiness for those not only here but around the world.
This year with the COVID-19 virus, it is a challenge to find that cheer but I look back four generations to when I was a child growing up in the time of the country’s financial The Great Depression of the 1930s.
My three sisters and I did not feel the effects, our parents kept the holiday as one in which we participated in our Sunday School program, church service, our school programs and opened gifts brought by Santa, as limited as they were, with excitement.
I learned later that the finances were very tight and neighbors and even employees with my father, took up collections one year so we could have Christmas.
As parents, we re-captured that youthful excitement when we watched our children open their gifts early (and I mean EARLY) on Christmas morning. Again, we enjoyed sharing the excitement of grandchildren opening their gifts, although not quite so early.
Today, I pray that the beauty and true meaning of Christmas will bring peace to each of us, young and old, and to those around the world and for just awhile we can recapture the excitement, anticipation and promise of this beautiful holiday, which is a celebration of the birth of Jesus.
Gifts, cards, calls, and if possible, attending a church service, are all ways for young and old to celebrate this Christmas holiday. My sincere wishes to you for a joyous and merry Christmas!
Looking back at past Christmases, from the Cardington Searchlight:
December 16, 1969: the following kindergarten students had answered the question “Why do we have Christmas?” Anita French: “Cause you get to light the candles;” Lori Shaffer: “Cause Santa Claus likes to eat cookies and milk;” Paul Fisher: “To have all the toys in one place in the house;” and Vicky Moodispaugh, “To get bikes to play with.”
Students in Mrs. Hindman’s first grade answered the question “What Christmas means to them” as follows: Michelle Cope: “I like the colors of the bulbs on Christmas trees.” Dianne Sharp: “Candy canes, Chocolate covered Santas and all kinds of candy are good.”
Mrs. Stapleton’s second grade students talked about the cold by responding “December is cold. You have to se good. If you are in a snowball fight you better watch out – POOOOW!” from Cheryl Harris.
From Mrs. Ulrey’s fifth grade was a poem by Cindy Gliem with the topic being “Autumn,” in which she notes that “Autumn is a beautiful thing, leaves are falling down; everything is colorful, falling to the ground. Red, yellow, green and brown, tumbling through the air, red, yellow, green and brown, tumbling here and there. Grass is turning brown now, to the south the birds ware flying, winter will soon be here and lots of things are dying.”
