Christmas Memories

[Gray Ghost]

I remember Christmas in the past when I was little. We would start Christmas decorating two weeks before the big day. We would have a pageant at the Church. I would play a Shepard or Joseph or be the narrator. If Christmas fell on a Sunday, we would go to Church and have Holy Communion and if it didn’t, we would have Communion on Christmas Eve. We would go downtown during the season and see all the Christmas lights and do some shopping. We had a Belk Tyler’s on Main St that was four stories tall. It had an elevator that was operated by an attendant. He would call out what was on each floor as we got to it. He also wore a uniform. The men’s department had sales people with the tape measure around their necks and was ready to get you into the proper suit. They all wore suits themselves. The best Pepsi came from the fountain at Almand’s Drug Store and they also made the best fresh squeezed lemonade. I would also go for hayrides and caroling with my Church. We had so much fun. On Christmas Eve, my parents would take me around to my Grandparents homes to get my presents and for me to give them the presents that I had bought or made for them. My Papa Russ was always known to be a snappy dresser. He always wore a suit when he went out and always wore a fedora. My favorite suit that he wore was a gray pinstripe. He looked so good. My Granddaddy Lancaster was a farmer and mostly dressed like one, but when he dressed up, he looked real nice. He had a gray window pane suit and wore a fedora as well. We would then go back home and gather with our other family and friends and exchange gifts and sit around and enjoy each others company. My mother would always prepare homemade chicken salad and pimento cheese finger sandwiches, homemade fudge, homemade banana cake, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, and a jelly cake. We would have chips and dip and different types of cheeses. Mom would combine ginger ale and cranberry juice cocktail to make the punch. On Christmas day, mom would prepare a very large Christmas dinner with turkey, dressing, ham, beans, rice, gravy, homemade biscuits and a number of other items. For breakfast, we just finished up the pimento cheese and the chicken salad sandwiches, because we did not want to get too full before dinner. My dad would always get up early to fix a fire in the fireplace. When the living room was warm, he would wake me and my brother up to let us see what Santa had brought for us. We were never disappointed. Christmas is no longer like that anymore. My father and both sets of grandparents are gone. Wal-mart and the Malls have destroyed our Main St. You don’t go down to Main St at night now unless you want to get mugged. It just isn’t the same anymore. I have just gotten married and I hope to start my own family traditions, so there is still hope to get back some of the glory days. I apologize for such a long post, but I just wanted to remember and share my memories with everyone. Please fill free to share your memories.

Eric “Gray Ghost” Russ