Once again the Christmas season is upon us. More often than not it is when the season of joy and good cheer begins that I pause and reflect on the many other Christmases that I have celebrated in my life.
Sometimes I let my mind wander back to when I was just a young girl growing up in a large family with my maternal grandparents living with us. It is then that I reflect on the many “feelings, emotions and sounds” of Christmas.
I remember the days leading up to the “big” day. My parents owned a store and it was above this store in 2 stories of living space where the 12 of us lived. We were a family of 8 children, parents and grandparents. It was during the Christmas rush that my parent’s store got busier and busier. People were looking for the perfect Christmas gift and my Dad’s store had just about everything. In the store they sold clothes, footwear, dishes, toys, hardware, groceries, wallpaper, wool and the list goes on. I had the privilege at the age of 12 to begin helping out in the store. I quickly learned how to use the cash register, cut material, help with freight, and serve the customers.
During the Christmas season, it was great to help people who wanted their gifts wrapped in nice shiny gift wrap.
My dad’s business always picked up during the Christmas season and to his most faithful customers he always gave a turkey and to many others he gave boxes of chocolates and to others when they asked- a discount on footwear and clothes purchases and even gift items. One of the benefits of being a teenager working in my parent’s store was that they paid me and it was with this hard earned money that I went to the other stores on our street. It was across the road to Jim’s Store, next door to the Drug Store or across to the A & B Variety store. I also took a walk one year down to the local Hardware Store looking for some sort of tool to buy for my Dad. I remember the Christmas carols that would be heard over the speaker on the roof of Jim’s Store. I remember the Santa Claus parades and Santa Claus would throw out candy to all of us children lining the sidewalk.
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