How often do we recall early memories of Christmas? At Thanksgiving, my grandchildren asked me what Christmas was like when I was younger. I had not thought about Christmas as a child for a long time. My grandchildren listened with great interest as I shared my memories.

Christmas in my home began on Dec. 6, St. Nicholas Day. Two uncles and aunts would come for supper and the uncles talked non-stop about St. Nicholas. They were great in getting us all excited, anticipating his arrival. The excitement would keep building and finally around 7 p.m., St. Nicholas would appear. St. Nicholas would question myself and my siblings, asking if we were being good and obeying our parents. If St. Nicholas was satisfied, he would ask what we wanted for Christmas. Before St. Nicholas left, he would give us candy and an assortment of mixed nuts to crack. The rest of the evening one uncle would sneak outside and knock on windows while the other would be inside with us warning that St. Nicholas was watching. 

After St. Nicholas left there would be no more signs of Christmas in our home. My mother did a lot of baking for Christmas, yet the children never knew she was baking. Before we were school age she would bake late into the night after we had gone to bed. Once in school, she baked during the day. Finally, Christmas Eve would arrive. Mysteriously, the Christmas tree would arrive along with lights for the tree. My father would put the tree up and decorate it with the lights.

My uncles and aunts would arrive for supper. Once again, my uncles would start talking about the arrival of Santa Claus and get us all very excited. They would often tease us that maybe Santa had forgotten us. Finally, Santa Claus would arrive. He would have all the decorations for the tree and the house, all the baked good, food for Christmas Day and gifts from Santa. Before Santa Claus left we sang him a Christmas song. Then we opened his gifts and decorated the tree and house. From what seemed out of nowhere came gifts from our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. It was such a special evening. 

Christmas Day brought all my mother's family and dad's family.  By the evening meal there would be 40-45 people in our home. It was a home full of merriment. Christmas Day was not the end of the season. From Dec. 26 to Jan. 6 was a time for friends and neighbors to visit. Every evening we were at someone's home or friends would gather at our home. On the two weekends during this time span a big evening meal was shared.

Times have changed and everyone's lives have become so much busier. There just seems be less time to gather with so many family, friends and neighbors in our fast-paced world. I have many good memories of Christmas when I was young and wish there was more time for family, friends and neighbors to visit.

We are fast approaching the threshold of a large influx of the population turning 60. The Minnesota Senior Federation will need to plan for the future.  A committee has been formed to work towards meeting new issues that may arise. The committee is meeting twice a month to work out a plan and we hope to present the plan for approval at the Board and delegate assembly meeting in January.