Me and Mine Were There
The week of Christmas was always a busy time. Of course, there was food being thought of and prepared. There was clothes that were being hemmed, pressed and being finished for the Sunday School programs on Christmas Eve. The programs were a huge event.
The afternoons for a month of Saturdays prior to Christmas Eve, rehearsal was held at church. All grades through 8th were included in the productions. Actual booklets had been ordered for each teacher. It was a story to tell from A to Z. For those that had a speaking part, their portion had been copied, sent home with them early on with a note to encourage parents to have the child learn it from memory. During these practices the church elders would be putting up two huge Christmas trees, one on each side of the alter. They were marvelous. The women of the Ladies Aid made beautiful ornaments of felt. Those trees were lit with the huge bulbs that spread the illumination far.
Christmas Eve night the church would be lit with candles and the Christmas trees. The overhead lights were at a minimum. The classes of Sunday School kids were lined up in the basement for the full on entrance into the church proper. The curls that the moms had spent time on glistened from the lights. The boys couldn’t resist making sure the foreign feeling ties and bowties were staying in place.
The organ played as the children marched in with their teacher and perhaps a helper for the smaller ones. The full on force of the organ seemed to magically make the church vibrate. The productions were always a hit and unbeknown to the parents and grandparents in the audience the slip-ups occurred but were covered over. The Baby Jesus in his bed in the manger was the grand finale. Priceless.
The children were not the only ones that spent time preparing for Christmas Eve. The members of the church council had also been meeting prior. The Sunday School children exited the church in the same manner they had marched in. At the double doors of the church proper each child was given a fairly large paper bag filled with an array of nuts, mostly peanuts, candy of various types and an apple and an Orange. Each bag had been twisted shut with hardy hands. After the Sunday School children were back in the basement finding their coats, gloves and hats, the congregation was ushered out pew by pew. Every child that had been in the audience also received a bag of goodies regardless if they were an infant or of high school age. The entire time the organ was rattling the rafters with one of the much loved Christmas hymns.
For one of those years of participating, our family of four made the trip to the church in Buffalo Lake, which was only a four mile journey. The trip into town didn’t mess up too much the long green Victorian dress trimmed with white eyelets for Carrie. Kevin had on his three piece suit complete with tie. I always had a lot of satisfaction sewing for the kids. Hmm. Carrie’s dress was in her cedar chest that had belonged to Grandma Schafer. Kevin’s suit is still in my cedar chest in the attic.
Hmm. What fun going down memory lane this afternoon. What may have been some 47 years ago still has special meaning today. If someone were to wipe out my memories, I don’t know who I would be today.