Fading Christmas Tradition?

 

As a child,
our home decor during the 50's was fairly non~descript.
Just the silver aluminum Christmas Tree
with the rotating color wheel,
a plastic white Church with a silver rooftop, stained glass windows that had a wind~up music box playing Silent Night
and the porcelain Nativity set that set atop the console television.
That pretty much sums it up!

Except,
the Christmas Tradition that I truly enjoyed most. . .
the receiving of Christmas Cards !
Being the youngest of three children,
it was one of my daily chores to "fetch" the mail from our mailbox.

 

 

I loved being entrusted with the 'carrying of the mail'
from mailbox ~ across the front lawn ~ into the house
and placing it carefully on the bay window ledge
next to the telephone for Daddy and MoMa to sort through
upon their arrival each evening.

Each envelope had its own crispness
and the elaborate, beautiful penmanship
always gave me a inner thrill!

The return address were mostly the local Kansas City relatives.
What an excitement stirred within when I would read those from
Hominy, Oklahoma ~ Big Spring, Texas ~ Garden Grove, California.
Perhaps my excitement was in anticipation of my MoMa's reaction
as she opened these Christmas Cards from her cousin and sisters!

The Christmas Cards were always opened after the evening meal,
MoMa would read each Christmas Card aloud,
then she would pass the cards around the table
beginning with Daddy, my brother, my sister and finally to me.
After being passed from family member to family member,
by the time the cards had reached their final destination,
they were toasty warm from the transfer. 
I held the cards captive at my place,
studying each intricate detail, 
until MoMa insisted they go in the card basket.

With each passing Christmas,
I find that the tradition of mailing Christmas Cards is fading.
Arriving On Crooked Creek just a decade ago,
it was normal to send 75 Christmas Cards to family and friends.
First stop on my 'after Christmas $ale$' list,
was always the purchasing boxes of Christmas Cards
for the next years mailing.

My Christmas Card mailing list
has dwindled to less than 25 recipients.
Every year, I insert the annual Christmas letter inside each
Christmas Card and always end with the same phrase. . .
God Bless Us Everyone!

For me, the tradition of sending Christmas Cards will continue.
As the familiar televised
Musical Christmas programming during my childhood played,
"With every Christmas Card I write,
May your days be Merry and bright. . .
and may all your Christmases be white."

Until next time. . .