Thursday 15 December 2022

Christmas

 Christmas indeed and don't we all know it.   It is plastered all over our newspapers and television screens and our computers too.   The other day somebody on here asked me to write about Christmas when I was a child.   Well the first thing to say is that it did not take over our lives like it does now (if we let it)

I was 7 when the war started in 1939 and my dearly loved brother was in the army (and was at Dunkirk).  So Christmases were muted to say the least.   I do remember one Christmas when he got leave and we didn't know until in the middle of our Christmas lunch he suddenly knocked on our side window!   My mother fainted away.

Because we had a spare bedroom we had to have either an evacuee from one of the 'threatened' cities or a civilian worker off the airfields (living in Lincolnshire - a flat county - we were surrounded by airfields. )  My parents chose a civilian worker and we had a variety throughout the war years.

We used to hear hundreds of planes go off nightly to cities in Germany  on bombing raids to  places like Dresden and Hamburg - such dreadful losses of life on both sides -( just as in Ukraine today - all so pointless). 

So to some extent Chistmas was a very muted affair - for example fairy lights (even for those who could have afforded them) were a non event because of the blackout ("put that light out" as the warden would have called on his nightly round)

Presents?   We had one or two - often home made (there wasn't that kind of money about).   I tried to remember any I got.   I had a Tan-sad doll's pram - bright red I remember- and once I had two very pretty nighties and a dresssing gown.  Then I saved up with the bits of money I got from various aunts and uncles who called and bought myself slippers to match.

Dinner?   Well my mother loved dressing poultry and was very good at it so dressed poultry for the village butcher - chickens, the odd turkey but mostly geese in those days and we always had roast goose .  We always had plenty of good, fresh veg as my father was a keen veggie gardener and my mother always made a pudding.

And that's  about it really but we enjoyed it -once we knew my brother was safe.   When he first joined up in 1939 he was in The Lincolnshire Regiment which I believe was an Infantry Regiment but later, when REME was formed he was transferred because he was a mechanic before the war and there fore had the right skills.

As an afterthought - my mother dressed some birds called (I think) capons.   Can anyone enlighten me - I rather think they were something like cockerels which had been castrated.   And I think it became banned.

I read this back and think how we looked forward to and enjoyed our Christmases and contrasted it with today when bombaarded with television adverts and the like we can become pressganged into spending money we haven't got.   I heard on this morning's news that the average credit card debt on presents this Christmas is just below £500.  As there must be many who did as I did years ago and have no credit card debt I can't imagine what some folk must have,   What did I do - I got out the scissors and cut it in bits.   And what a good feeling it gave me.

33 comments:

Chris said...

I am almost sure that capons were castrated cockerels,
, they grow larger and are not aggressive so can be kept in the same pen. I used to earn my pocket money plucking every Christmas.
Chris

Rachel Phillips said...

Yes, they were caponised as the expression was. Made fattening them up better for Christms meat
My mum reared about 100 from day olds, caponised them, wrung their necks, plucked and dressed them for the butcher. A very busy, fraught time of year.

coffeeontheporchwithme said...

I very much enjoyed this post. It really puts things in perspective, doesn't it? I can't even imagine your mother's shock and surprise when your brother showed up. I hope you are keeping well and enjoying your time. Will you be going to your son's for Christmas, or will they come to your house for a visit? -Jenn

Sue said...

Your brother coming home for Christmas must have been the best present ever.

Melinda from Ontario said...

What a happy shock for your mother to see her son's smiling face in the window. The food, gifts and decorations wouldn't mean much to a parent if they are worrying about a child. That must have been one of your mum's best Christmases.

Castrating a cockerel must be no easy task!

Derek Faulkner said...

Christmas in our childhoods was a special but short-lived event not the long drawn out event that we have to endure from autumn onwards as it is nowadays. Food was the same, winter vegetables for instance were also things that had a brief season that we looked forward to and enjoyed. Nowadays sprouts and parsnips can be bought all year round and their enjoyment has lost their anticipated significense. We rarely had chicken at Christmas, it was a rare luxury, it was normally a rabbit that we fattened up in a hutch each year special for Christmas.

Mary said...

The modern celebration of Christmas is nowhere near as wonderful as when we were children - and yes, I grew up in England too and have lovely memories despite it being war time! A very small tree with real candles - so dangerous - as there were no electric strings of lights! Mum would save all year in a 'Christmas Club' to have money for special grocery items, 'the bird', crackers to pull, and sweets we never could afford, such as a big tin of Roses chocs, or Quality Street! She always made a lovely homemade Christmas pudding, and of course an amazing Christmas cake complete with marzipan, thick royal icing and holly sprigs.
It's quite horrific these days, at least here, seeing how people buy such expensive gifts and run up debt - this most special of all Christian holidays was never meant to be this way.
Your brother's unexpected appearance was the best gift ever at Christmas - and of course your fondest memory I'm certain.
Pat dear, it's so gratifying to see you back here writing away so well and making my day special. Stay well and keep on sharing your thoughts on life.
Sending hugs, Mary

Debby said...

Oh, what a wonderful post! I enjoyed it and your commenters remembrances as well. All this brings it home once again: the best Christmas memories have nothing at all to do with gifts. Thank you all!

Debby said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
jinxxxygirl said...

No credit card debt for Christmas here Pat.. My parents always made Christmas grand! They would often take out a loan for Christmas and pay it off by April. So Christmas has always been important in my house and as my daughter grew up i tried to do that for her too.. But i never went into debt for it.. But i would buy presents all year long as i found the money to do so and squirrel them away.. Hugs! debs

Ellen D. said...

I love your post of Christmas memories. Our family gatherings are always happy times with lots of laughter and noisy, excited children!

Pixie said...

Both my parents were older than you and both were terrified of debt, something they passed on to me thank goodness. Mum grew up in Guildford, in the south and never talked about her homelife. I wish she had. The only thing she ever said is that her dad would take one of them out every Sunday for a walk (there were four girls in the family). Sometimes she talked about the war. She was fourteen when the war started and was on a holiday with a friend's family. When she came home her mother had already hung all the black out curtains. Mum was also a fiend for eggs because during the war they were only allowed one egg a week.

I hope you have a lovely Christmas and I think I'll try to remember the good times more and worry less about what advertisers think I should buy. Thank you.

Damselfly said...

Thank you for sharing such a wonderful Christmas memory, as well as other memories from your interesting and well-lived life, Weaver dear.
Wishing you & yours a joyous holiday season and a new year filled with prosperity, good health, contentment, and all that fills you with peace & joy.

Brenda said...

I don’t have cable or regular tv…I have Hulu and Netflix…no commercials..
However, especially living with the pandemic, I am happy to see celebrations and excitement. The earlier the better…enjoy…love your stories. I grew up poor but didn’t know it.

Barbara Anne said...

Thank you for sharing your Christmas memories with us! Oh, the joy of your brother's unexpected arrival home on leave during those worrisome war years.

One of my greatest childhood joys at Christmas was when the large box of gifts arrived from my Aunt Martha (Dad's sister). That part of the family lived in Richmond, VA and we were in Memphis, TN so gifts were send back and forth. The box always contained Aunt Martha's delicious fruit cake along with the simple gifts for each of us. As a child, my mother often made clothes for my dolls and I found those dolls under the tree wearing their new outfits!

The post office was so busy handling the bazillion Christmas cards that in December, they delivered the mail twice a day. Amazing.

Hugs!

crafty cat corner said...

My Auntie kept chickens and always gave us one for Christmas, they were not in plentiful supply like they are now. It came whole, and we used to sit in the kitchen plucking it and then Mum would do the rest.
Another thing that I remember was the smell of the fruit. We didn't have a bowl of fruit the rest of the year, we only got the occasional apple or orange.
We felt like kings at Christmas.
Briony
x

Anonymous said...

Auntie Eileen was my grandmother's sister. Growing up in the 50's and 60's we didn't have a lot of money but Eileen was a well-off working woman running a business with her husband in a time when most women were homemakers. She met her husband when they both worked in Intelligence during the war.
She was very generous every Christmas, and oh my, how we all looked forward to her Christmas parcels coming from interstate. We children, dressed in finery with expensive toys, felt 'rich'. There is a photo of my cousin in a cowboy outfit standing next to myself in a flouncy dress with my new large doll, and my little brother in beautiful clothes holding a soft large clown toy. The toys seemed huge, but I realize now, simply relative to our size.
Thanks for sharing your memories Pat, and stirring up our own.- Pam, Sth Aust.

Kathy said...

So enjoyed this post Weaver, very similar to my Christmas when I was little, happy Days. Lovely that you are now able to write your blog, you are continuing to improve, great news. Take Care & may I wish you a Happy Christmas & hope you enjoy good health in 2023.

Tom Stephenson said...

Thanks for that Weave.

Chris said...

I have ordered a capon for our Christmas lunch again this year. I like them better than turkey and one is enough to feed the family with leftovers too!

Susan said...

Your brother coming home from war for Christmas made the best possible Christmas. The gift of joy is always the best of all possible gifts. Thank you for sharing this delightful story.

marlane said...

Thanks so much for another excellent post about your memories.

gz said...

Interesting memories..
Pirate is just over six years younger than you and being in rural Kent just outside Ashford, remembers the planes and bombing. His eldest brother wasn't so fortunate and died in a Lancaster that only had five hours flying time.. probably went out from near you. In 1945.

Joanne Noragon said...

Thanks for this, Weave. There are benefits to growing old. You can enchant us with stories.

Virginia said...

I don't remember many Christmas presents - I was born in 1952, so the wartime shortages were a thing of the past, but we were careful about debt. Decorations were home Meade - interminable crepe paper festooned across windows and paper chains of little people! There was a small Christmas stocking for the children, with an orange in the toe and a couple of sweets, and usually a comic and a small toy.
I was allowed to open one present when we got home from midnight Mass, which left a couple for the morning.

Christmas Day meant a large chicken - chicken was a luxury then, roasted vegetables and both Christmas pudding with brandy sauce and pavlova. There was often an extra person or two included around our Christmas table - a neighbour or someone who would otherwise be alone. I'm pretty sure having a ham came later in my childhood.

It's great to see you well enough to post Weaver, I hope you're keeping warm.

Cro Magnon said...

Capons are the bird of choice in France for Christmas. I had to really search around for a good Turkey, which were always quite small and outdoor raised.

RunNRose said...

Dear Weave. Exemplifying what Christmas is supposed to be about. Giving. She gives of herself to us. And what a wonderful gift
SHE is. Hugs and much appreciation to her from across the Pond.

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

It took several years for me to figure out why one of our largest chickens always disappeared at Christmas time.

thelma said...

lovely memories Pat, and special Christmases from long ago. In a way the holiday is also about getting together for families and friends and that still happens.

Librarian said...

What a wonderful - THE most wonderful - Christmas present your brother's homecoming must have been! It reads like a beautiful story in a Christmas book, but your memory confirms that things like that really happen.
When I was a child (born 1968), Christmas Eve was always exciting. My sister and I knew there were going to be many presents for us, as we always had my Mum's parents over for the evening. They lived only a few streets away and were very fond of us (the feeling was mutual). So there were always the six of us - Mum, Dad, Oma and Opa, my sister and I - around the table for Wiener sausages and spuds salad (a traditional Christmas Eve meal here even for my grandparents in their childhood), then the presents were opened, songs were sung, and then our cat was allowed in the room to play with the gift wraps - he LOVED diving into the pile and rustling around, searching for imaginary mice!
Also, we never had electric lights, always real candles. Even with little children and cats around, no fire broke out from those candles, not once.
Christmas Day was never quite so important as Christmas Eve. It was mostly a quiet day, playing with our new presents, Mum and Dad spending hours together in the kitchen, cooking a festive meal for the evening. Weather permitting, we'd be out in the snow during the afternoon; later, the candles on the tree would be lit again and the festive meal eaten.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Librarian - how different a Christmas and how good to read of it. Love the picture of the cat being let in to play with the giftwrap
John - oh dear - what a memory!!

Thanks to all of you for sharing your memories. I had completely forgotten how the Post Office used to employ students to deeiver cards.

Margaret Butterworth said...

I'm surprised you can manage without a credit card. I need mine to place an order for a supermarket delivery. Recently my card was scammed so I had to cancel it. I'm waiting for a new one to arrive in the post....which is very slow just now!

Heather said...

We never had turkey for Christmas when I was a child. A large chicken fed everyone - my mother, grandmother and grandfather, aunt and uncle and myself. Vegs from the garden, home made pudding, cake and mincepies, and probably a fruit trifle at teatime. Lots of greenery for decorations and the top of a conifer from the garden for the tree, plus paperchains and my favourite Christmas present was a home made dolls house. I think everyone mentioned above had had a hand in it. That must have been during the war as my father was not present.