Village Squire, 1975-12, Page 14The arrival of Aunt Ellen's big box was one of
the highlights of the day. Somehow, it never
failed to arrive on Christmas Day. I think
Grandfather must often have left it there for a
day or two so we might have the fun of
collecting it. As there were too many gifts to
be wrapped separately, each article had a
name tag stuck, tied or pinned to it and we
had to wait until dinner was cleared up before
it was opened.
Grandfather's dining room was a Targe one
as was his kitchen and living room. The
dining table was pulled out to the limit. I do
not recall as a child that Grandfather ever had
a turkey. Almost every farm in those days,
boasted a flock of geese and a•good fat goose
was generally. the piece de resistance.
Because there was such a crowd of us, there
was generally duck, maybe a couple of
roasted chickens and also ham. The children
were served first, then the dishes were
washed, the table reset and the grownups ate
in peace. We children were too stuffed with
roast fowl, vegetables, cole slaw, jellied
salads, hot biscuits and plum pudding to give
any trouble.
Again there was washing up, the table was
reset for supper and now we were ready for
the gifts to be passed out, greatly to the
delight of children departed to skate on a
nearby pond or to sleigh ride down the hill
west of the village and the grown ups settled
down to play a few games of crokinole or
checkers. Although Grandfather was a good
Anglican, a sect which did not frown on cards
in those days, he did not allow cards to be
played in his house. He had been brought up
to believe, "the Devil was in the cards;" and
everyone respected his wishes as long as he
lived.
About four or four -thirty in the afternoon,
the men folks began to depart for the church.
shed and the horse and cutters. The stock had
to be attended to. As no one had more than a
mile and a half to go, a couple of hours was
usually sufficient to speed up the chores and
then they were back for the evening meal and
what a supper!
The fowl was sliced from the bones and
instead of pudding there were two or three
choices of canned fruit. Mince pies, always a
standby at Christmas, were supplemented by
raisin, cranberry, pumpkin and berry pies -
the last two drowning in the aforementioned
Jersey whipped cream. Several varieties of
cake, tarts and cookies completed the meal
which was topped off by large slices of
Christmas cake of which everyone had to have
a piece. Sometimes, in these days, when
lunch, for most people, is a sandwich or a
bowl of soup and breakfast a slice of toast or a
bowl of cornflakes, I wonder how we ever
survived such feasts but there were no five
day work weeks or forty hour weeks in those
days on the farm. A work day was from dawn
to dark and in the winter started long before
daylight and lasted till well after dark. Pulling
a cross -cut saw in the bush all day then going
home to several hours barn work, burned up a
lot of calories and adverdupois was no
problem.
"Methuselah ate what he found on his plate
And lived to be four hundred and eight,
He didn't count calories, as people do now,
He simply ate it because it was chow."
After supper there generally followed a
short sing song. Grandfather had been a
violinist in his youth but now he would head
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12, VILLAGE SQUIRE/DECEMBER 1975
tor the piano. I can see him yet, the lamplight
shining on his hair and beard, picking out the
songs of his youth. Tramp, tramp, the boys
are marching, a song from civil war days, was
a favorite as was Juanita. Comin' Through
the Rye, Annie Laurie and Flow Gently Sweet
Afton were always included in the sing song
as did a number of Stephen Foster melodies
and then finally Hark the Herald Angels Sing
and Silent Night as little heads dropped lower
and one by one the little children fell asleep
on their mother's knee. Then the strains of
Good Night Ladies rang through the house.
The men departed for the church shed again,
the drowsy children were wrapped and
bundled into the cutters and Christmas Day
was over for another year.
After Christmas came Boxing Day. Stores
were open and did a rushing business as all
kinds of misfits and wrong colored gifts were
exchanged for presents more to the
recipient's size or liking. All bush work was
suspended while young people skated on
ponds while roaring bondfires blazed nearby.
Childrew sleighed down nearby hills. Older
people called in for a cup of tea and some
Christmas cake and cookies. Every piece of
_Christmas cake was supposed to bring one a
happy month. Many card and crokinole
parties were enjoyed at neighbor's houses.
Young people danced to the music of a
hand -cranked record player or to the radio if
the household was fortunate enough to have
one, in those early days of radio. The battery
powered radios were clumsy things then and
were replaced later by electric radios, much
smaller and more compact.
Occasionally during Christmas week,
someone would roll back the rugs, move out
HOLIDAY WEAR
PANTS, BLOU�I SWEATERS,
SKIRTS, DRESSES, PARTY GOWNS,
EVENING SKIRTS AND TOPS
Coats. Pant Coats, Ski Jackets, Jeans, Corduroy.
Sizes 5 to 15 & 8 to 18
Open evenings from December 4th to
.
.,
December 22 Saturday's til 5:30
Telephone 271-2140
93 Ontario Street
STRATFORD, ONTARIO.