CHRISTMAS TIME – A SEASON OF MEMORIES By Eva Fry

Ecclesiastes 3:1

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

Christmas is one of the happiest seasons of our life. It gathers us together as families, where we create special loving traditions and so many loving memories. We all have special remembrances of Christmas’s past. I would like to share with you some of my memories.

Christmas has changed for me through the years. I am a grandma now and enjoy

special Christmas’s with my grown children and their families. I watch them create lasting memories for their little ones. I am reminded of those happy times when my precious children were still home with us and of the Christmas’s we had

Together. How I miss those special times.

My song “Christmas Wish” says what is in my heart.

If I could have one Christmas wish, I’d go back in time,

When our children all were young and they were home with us.

We’d decorate the house with lights, put up the Christmas tree,

Bake cookies; sing Christmas carols in the neighborhood.

Make gifts for the ones we love; wrap them really nice,

Laugh, kiss and hug a lot, we’d have so much fun.

I’d read the story of Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem

In the manger we’d carefully lay the Savior in.

Christmas Eve we’d hold them tight, our hearts filled with love

Give thanks for our family, our special gift from God.

We’d tuck them safely into bed, fill the stockings full,

Peek in at our sleeping babes; angels without wings.

Eyes would sparkle Christmas morn’ when Dad turned on the lights,

Santa left so many gifts; cookies and milk were gone.

Opening gifts was the best of all; parcels ripped apart,

Finding their special wish, jumping up and down.

I’d bake the turkey as they played with the toys they got,

We’d feast together on food and love, what a heavenly day.

The memories of those special days many years ago

Seem like only yesterday; life was filled with joy.

If I could have one Christmas wish, I’d go back in time,

When our children all were young and they were home with us.

Not only does Christmas bring back memories of my precious children but also

memories or my dear mother who passed away October 18, 2002. She was

86 years old and life had not been easy for but she did her best to make our lives

Happy. The most favorite memories of my mother were the wonderful

Christmas’s she created for my brother, sister and I. She always made Christmas

beautiful and exciting, in spite of our alcoholic father who played havoc with our

Lives, whenever he got drunk, especially at Christmas time.

My mother seemed to have a mission to make things right for us each Christmas.

Every year she would open a charge account at Zellers, to buy us gifts. My

father gave her no money. We were poor because of his addiction. She bought us

needed things like socks and underwear but always something special. I

remember the red leather loose-leaf binder she gave me when I was 10. We kids

did not know it then, but for the rest of the year mom paid off her charge account

with cash she could squeeze from her food money. Each new season she started

over with another Christmas charge account.

Mom did not let us see the tree before Christmas morning, an old family tradition.

My kids now have their tree up at least two weeks before Christmas. But never the less, when I was young the first viewing of the tree was glorious.

One Christmas Eve, when my dad was drunk, he took a Christmas tree from a lot,

which had closed for the night, and hauled it home, dragging it behind him. We

lived in Canada and the tree was frozen. When he brought it into our house to

thaw it out; my mother was made aware of why no one had purchased it. The

tree had only a few branches. My mother sent him back for another tree, which

was equally as bare, so they tied the two together.

Mom would stay up all night carefully decorating the tree and wrapping our gifts.

She always had a knack of doing things perfectly. She made a special effort to

choose the most beautiful paper she could afford and each gift had a bright

ribbon and bow. She was dedicated to bringing excitement to our eyes,

Christmas morning, when she turned on the lights to our gorgeous tree, laden

with so many gifts from Santa. Her reward came when she saw the enjoyment we

had as we ripped open each treasure.

Often our father was too hung over to get up with us to open gifts and would later

head out the day to be with his buddies but our mother made sure out

Christmas was special. We always went to grandma and grandpa’s house for a

turkey feast with all our relatives.

This Christmas I am especially grateful for my loving mother who sacrificed so

much for her family and created Christmas memories and traditions, which I see

being passed down to my grandchildren. I will miss her dearly.

In all of our own lives we have special Christmas memories and I have one more

which I will never forget.

I call it “The Miracle of the Pinecones.”

Just before Christmas, several years ago, my five-year-old grandson, Jesse, and I

were in Julian California where my husband was completing a job.

As we wondered below the spectacular pine trees we saw pinecones lying on the

They were large and magnificent. My grandson loved them and wanted to

Take some home, so we gathered them up.

I wondered what we could create with them. As I held one up and turned it upside down, I realized it looked like a perfect Christmas tree, only brown. I found my

Christmas snow and sprayed it white. Right before our eyes the pinecone turned

into a tree, covered with a blanket of snow. We then decided to decorate it. I

When we touched them to the snow they stuck. The

pinecones became jewel covered Christmas trees.

Jesse and I had so much fun making trees that we encouraged my mother, his

great-grandmother to get involved and we spent an afternoon making beautiful

trees. What a wonderful memory I have of my mother and grandson working

together creating multicolored treasures. I took a picture with my heart.

We had so many trees and wondered what to do with them all. We gave some to

family members and recruited them to go Christmas caroling in the

neighborhood. I took another picture with my heart, of little Jesse singing ‘Away in a Manger’ and then and then proudly giving his precious tree to a smiling neighbor.

We still had trees to give and I wondered what to do with them. That year I taught the 16-year-old Sunday school class at my church. I wondered if I could combine my teenagers and the trees into a service project that would bring the spirit of Christmas to these young people. There was a senior care home across from our Church. I inquired if they would allow me to bring my teenagers in to sing Christmas carols to their residences and distribute the remaining Christmas trees. The home gave me their approval and thanks. When I presented my idea to my students I was not prepared for their response. Some of them were not excited about the idea. Actually, I think, many of them were just embarrassed to sing in front of each other. But I assured them it would be a nice thing to do and armed each one with a tree, the boys as well as the girls. We set out on our mission.

When we stepped into the first room of the care home, my young people were a

little timid but did sing a weak verse of “Silent Night”, except for one big boy who

stood in the back of the room and would not sing. One of them handed their tree

to the grateful patient and we left.

As we worked our way from room to room the teenagers gradually warmed up,

when they saw the smiles and tears on the faces of those dear old souls, except

for the boy in the back. Their singing got louder and more in tune and they

couldn’t wait to rush to the next room. I will always remember the 95-year old man,

who had been confined to bed for several years, accepting his Christmas tree

from a group of excited teenagers. I took another picture.

When we had given out the trees the young people were satisfied and happy. They

felt the Christmas spirit and didn’t want to leave. They knew the joy they had given

the patients.

We finally headed for the door. Along the way we met a sad little lady sitting in the

hallway in her wheelchair. When she spotted those noisy, laughing teenagers a

smile came across her toothless face and she held up her feeble arms hoping to

give them a hug. My wonderful teenagers formed a line and each one of them

bent down and give her a big hug. Another picture!

When we got outside the building, we discovered that the teenage boy, who had

stayed in the back of each room and would not sing, was missing. I went back

into the building to find him and it was then that I took the most memorable

picture, with my heart. There, in the hallway, was the big muscular boy, on his

knees, in the arms of that dear little 100-year-old lady. He had his strong, but

gentle arms rapped around her frail little body. Tears were streaming down both

their faces. On her lap was the pinecone Christmas tree he had carried

throughout the home and had been too embarrassed to give.

That year love came in the form of a pinecone tree.

We all have so much to be grateful for as we create Christmas memories and

traditions within our families How blest we all are.

This Christmas we have more reasons to look for the good things of life and be

thankful for all we are blessed with, in spite of events of the world. We must

remember that Christmas is a season of giving and of gratefulness.

I wrote a song to help encourage all of us and help us know what we can do

this Christmas to make a difference in our world.

What Can I Do To Help?

There’s so much sadness and so much pain. What can I do to help?

There’s so much anger and hatred. What can I do to help?

I can cherish my freedom, in this country I love.

I can bring comfort to someone. I can do all that I should.

There’s so much hurt and confusion. What can I do to help?

There’s so much sorrow and worry. What can I do to help?

I can love my brother; I can do a kind deed.

I can care for another; I can get down on my knees.

There’s so much sadness and so much pain. What can I do to help?

There’s so much anger and hatred? What can I do to help?

I can fight against evil and the suffering it brings

I can always to God’s will, so peace can come to our world

I can always do God’s will so peace can come to our world.

Thank you for letting me share my special memories of the happiest season of my

life. I pray we will all remember the reason for our Christmas Season and do all

We can to bring peace and happiness to our families and to our world.

We can enjoy our own traditions and be grateful for this Christmas, a season of

Memories.