“Christmas Time is coming” was a phrase I heard many times between Thanksgiving and Christmas when I was a young boy. I knew I’d better get them chores done and be well behaved if’n I was going to get a few of the things I wanted for Christmas.
Our Christmas preparations would begin on Thanksgiving Day as this was our first annual hunting trip for the men of our family. We would hunt at my Dad’s old home place in the upper end of Richmond Co. As we walked over the land we would pick out the best- looking Christmas tree we could find and mark it with a bright color ribbons, so we could find it later.
Another Christmas preparation in our family was a couple weeks before Christmas we would kill hogs to have plenty of fresh meat for the holidays. There not anything better than a fresh ham or sausage biscuit around Christmas time. I reckon that’s partly the reason I’ve got heart problems today, but boy, it sure was good.
Also, before Christmas Dad and my uncles would ride down to S.C. and purchase a bunch of fireworks to help celebrate the holidays. They would bring back several bags of cherry bombs, T.N.T’s, strings of smaller firecrackers, rockets, roman candles and lots of sparklers. We believed in bringing Christmas in with a bang.
About a week before Christmas, Dad would put an old saw, hatchet and twenty-two rifle in the truck of our car. Mom would put in a picnic lunch and we would ride up to the home place, to cut down the Christmas tree and gather other fresh Christmas decorations. After the tree was located and cut down it was off to find a holly tree, the one with the most beautiful berries. Then we’d walk down toward the creek and gather a bushel of what we called running cedar. That a green vine that grows on the ground and resembles cedar. I almost forgot, but what the rifle was for was to shoot down the mistletoe that seems to grow best in the tops of the tallest trees. We would tie the tree on the top of the car and have a truck full of fresh decorations for the holidays.
The next day Mom would send me up into the loft of our house to hand down the boxes of lights and other ornaments. All the lights hand to be burning before going on the tree. I remember one yr. Mom bought some new bubble lights. These lights were about four inches long and different colors. They were filled with a liquid and when they got hot the liquid would start bubbling and form the most beautiful lights. After the lights were placed on the tree the ornaments, garland, icicles and of course a beautiful star finished out the tree. Then the holly would be placed on the coffee table and mantle along with the running cedar and candles. The mistletoe was placed over every door in the hopes that Saint Nick would soon be there.
I hope you and your family have as much fun as I did decorating for Christmas while growing up as a young lad not far from Rockingham. Hope everyone had plenty to eat on Thanksgiving Day and my wish is that each of you will have a Merry Christmas and to all a good night.
J.A. Bolton is author of “Just Passing Time,” co-author of “Just Passing Time Together,” Southern Fried: Down Home Stories,” and just released his new book “Sit-A- Spell” all of which can be purchased on Amazon. Contact him at ja@jabolton.com