The Rural Voice, 2004-12, Page 10BOOKS.
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6 THE RURAL VOICE
Keith Roulston
The `merrg' in Christmas can't be bought
Keith
Roulston is
editor and
publisher of
The Rural
Voice. He
lives near
Riy,1,, ON.
Between BSE and low corn and
soybean prices, the approach of
Christmas will likely mean stress,
worry and guilt for some farm
families as they worry how to provide
the perfect Christmas on reduced
means — especially if they have
children. As I recall over half a
century of Christmases, however,
some of my best memories came
when money was scarce.
I'm sure my parents were stressed
at Christmas time in the 1950s.
Money was always scarce. I
remember the tension building when
it came time to pay the taxes on the
farm just before the holiday each
year. Would there be enough money?
And then followed Christmas with
two boys poring through Simpson's
catalogue until it was in tatters,
dreaming of all the magical toys that
would make life perfect. There would
be wise words about not being greedy
about what we asked from Santa, but
boys will dream — and plead.
Christmas brought two gifts: one
from Santa under the tree in the
morning, one from our parents when
the family opened presents after the
big meal of the day at noon. By
today's standards they were simple,
inexpensive gifts but they were
magical just the same. In fact in
recent years as I've watched young
relatives open present after present
after present (what, maybe $500
worth per kid?) I've never seen the
joy on their faces I remember
experiencing as a child.
Part of it is due to the fact Christ-
mas and birthdays were the only time
you received gifts in those days.
Anticipation was one of the greatest
treats, making the actual receiving of
a gift that much more special.
Today many children have
learned if they go to a store and see
something they want, no matter what
time of the year, if they make a big
enough fuss a guilty parent is likely
to buy it right on the spot, no special
occasion needed, but there's no anti-
cipation Of those special times either.
Parents try to compensate by giving
more and more but it's not the same.
The lean years weren't only
confined to childhood. There have
been times since, including when we
had young children, when we had to
acknowledge that our Christmas was
going to be much less bountiful than
the celebrations that would be
portrayed on television. The
knowledge that our childhood
Christmases had been so joyful even
without oodles of gifts helped us face
those times. I don't think my adult
children today would remember
hardship because they received fewer
gifts than some other children.
We've been brainwashed by the
overpowering presence of movies and
television into associating spending a
lot of money on gifts and decorations
with having a happy Christmas.
We've been blackmailed into
thinking we're cheating our children
if we don't overwhelm them with the
toys on the "most -wanted" list for
any given year. To me, however, the
greatest gift we can give our children,
is the realization that it's the love of a
family gathered around to celebrate
this special holiday that is most
important, not the material things
they unwrap. I'II bet 20 years from
now kids are more likely to
remember a family excursion to cut a
Christmas tree, a trip to church on
Christmas Eve with the snow gently
falling, or a Christmas -afternoon
toboggan party or sleigh -ride
involving the whole family than the
latest "in" toy under the Christmas
tree.
Worry and stress about not being
able to buy toys can get in the way of
the most important part of Christmas:
the love of the family gathered
around, remembering the real
meaning of the holiday. If you are
one of those facing hardship this
holiday, or even if you're not,
remember the "merry" in Christmas
can't be bought.0