Christmas Traditions

My extended has been celebrating Christmas Eve at my house since I was 9 years old and we bought the house I live in now. As a kid I thought that was so much fun because all of my toys were there and I never got bored. When I got older it was not as much fun because it takes a lot of time to get ready to host a party. On Christmas Eve, all of my mom’s brothers and sisters would come over with their families. My grandma and grandpa would come over too and sometimes they would bring my grandpa\u27s brother and his family. We would play games and eat dinner and around 8 o’clock Santa would come. He would call each of the kids by name to sit on his lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas. Sometimes the really little kid would get scared and cry the whole time they were on his lap but I never was scared. When we told him what we wanted he would give us a small present, an orange, and a candy cane. After Santa left everyone helped to clean up then went home. On Christmas morning we would wake up and open the presents. I always had one present from my parents under the tree and the rest of them came from Santa. The first year after I found out about Santa, I got a bowl of fruit instead of a bowl of candy for Christmas and I loved it because I do not like candy that much and every year after that, I get fruit. One year me and two cousins who were around my age all got a makeup kit for Christmas. Mine was purple, one was blue, and the other one was green. We spent Christmas day putting on our makeup together and it was so much fun. My favorite gift I had gotten as I got older were tickets to a Philadelphia Eagles football game. After we were done opening presents, we would clean up and make pancakes, bacon, and eggs for breakfast. We would drive to my grandmas at noon and open presents from grandpa and grandpa. We would also trade presents with one of the cousins. When everyone was done, grandma and grandpa opened theirs last. My family would go home and watch National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and The Christmas Story

Christmas Eve Yarn Balls

: J: okay. *clears throat* Well. uh.*clears throat* First Christmas I can remember, it was in bend I don’t remember how old I was but I couldn’t have been more than 3 or 4. It was before we knew grandpa Dave. Grandma Sam and I were with a friend her name was Becky. And Becky gave me (I think it was Becky. I’m pretty sure it was Becky) *clears throat* I remember the apartments that we were living in *clears throat* I remember we were sitting on the floor and my friend Becky brought me this yarn ball and as I wrapped it I can remember little plastic toy soldiers falling out in little bits of candy and stuff. And I remember it was fun and it was really kind of cool. I don’t know it was when I met your r mom for our first Christmas “together” I guess it was after we were married. So, it was after we were married. We were at her parents place and I gave her I wanted to give her a watch because she was studying to be a nurse believe it or not. And um she needed a watch and so I got her a pretty little citizen watch I thought she’d like. And uh instead of just wrapping it in a box I decided to put it in a yarn ball. I don’t know why I thought about that and so I wrapped it up in yarn and put some little toys and candy and stuff inside of it and it was about the size of a bowling ball. Anyway, she got it Christmas day uh she and her family were just kind of excited about the whole thing and it kind of made everybody laugh and your mom just loved it and when we started having kids she wanted me to do it for them. so, you got the first kid ball I don’t know if we did it your first Christmas but definitely your second Christmas and every year after that all you kids got yarn balls. That became daddy’s gift. M: well it’s one of my favorite Christmas memories and traditions J: Yeah mine too M; absolutely. So, um can you describe your process in making the yarn balls each year? J: uh Yeah. It starts with finding a gift and deciding what I want to get my children and it has to fit inside the yarn ball um and then we go buy the yarn and the candy and stuff before Christmas. *clears throat* and then usually the night before Christmas eve we sit down and start wrapping yarn balls and it takes me a few hours to them all done and I like to find little toys and stuff, little plastic things and rubbery stuff and these little things to wrap inside the yarn little cars, little balms, or little candy pieces stuff just fun stuff to put inside the balls as I wrap them. Of course, the main gift is in the middle. M: where- (talks over each other briefly) J: -and I always use green or red yarn and it sometimes. When I’m feeling particularly clever I make it so kids have to figure out which ball is theirs. M; what are some of those that you’ve done in the past? J: some of what? M; the clever things that you’ve done to help us figure out which yarn ball is ours. J: well I I’m not terribly clever. So, I’ve only done it a few times and I know it seems like, it probably seems to you like I’ve done it every time. You know one time I put knots in the string. So, one knot for you, 2 knots for Becca, 3 knots for Katie, and 4 for Xander. Or I’ve maybe tell a riddle that identifies somehow or somehow identifies. Maybe I hide the yarn ball and give you a clue so everybody has a separate clue to help you find the yarn ball. Uh- M: I remember one year Becca’s was in the dryer. Haha J; Yeah. Yeah. I don’t know it’s a I think every year it gets more challenging to do something unique. M: mhmm J: I guess I’m not that clever. Haha M; umm. Is does mom have a role to play with this tradition? J: oh, hers is probably the most important. She’s the one that nags me to do it so I can get it done in time. M; yup. It’s very important. J: Yeah. M: okay um another question. Um. What did you put in my yarn ball this year? J: that’s a very good question because I haven’t even done it yet. And of course, the yarn balls were always a Christmas eve tradition. M: of course. Well in that case there will be a follow up interview in a couple weeks when you find out. J: *laughs* how about on Christmas Eve? M: *laughs* Deal

Christmas Traditions - Mathew

Every second Sunday in December my dad’s extended family would have their family Christmas party in Grace, Idaho because his family was originally from Thatcher, Idaho. We have the party at Grace High School because my aunt is the head lunch manager there. We have dinner, usually ham, rolls, and salads that people brought. After dinner we eat the cinnamon rolls that my aunt makes and they are the best things ever. When the food is all done and cleaned up, Santa comes. He gives all the little kids a present and a candy cane. When he leaves the kids go into the gym to play a bunch of different games. The adult then do their own gift exchange. The men and women separate into groups and everyone who brought a gift participates in the game. The game is different every year. The only thing that stays the same is the men have our own gift exchange and the women have theirs. After this Christmas party we don’t do anything special until two days before Christmas. This is when we go to my grandma Andersen’s house. We start out by eating dinner, usually ham, turkey, funeral potatoes, and salads. After dinner grandma and grandpa round up all of the grandkids and have them reenact the Nativity, sometimes they dress them up, while the read the story from the scriptures. Not all of the kids follow the directions but that is what makes it fun. After that is over, we have an ugly Christmas sweater fashion show. It is so much fun and you get to see a lot of the goofy personalities of my cousins. I remember one year when my cousin Brad wore a Christmas sweater dress. After the fashion show, we exchange gifts. We start with the youngest kids and go to the oldest. This way everyone can see what everyone else got. Grandma and grandpa get to open their presents last. Then we just hang out and talk the rest of the night. On Christmas Eve we get up and have breakfast at grandma Andersen’s house. Then we hang out for the day and go home. Christmas morning we open presents, clean up the mess, then eat breakfast and watch t.v. After a while we drive to Grace and open presents with grandma and grandpa Burke at their house. Then we just spend the weekend with them

Christmas - Cole

On Christmas Eve we go to my aunt’s house for dinner. We eat food, play games, and then Santa, and sometimes Mrs. Clause, comes at the end of the night and gives all the kids a present and then we go home. On Christmas day me and my three sister would wake up around seven o’clock but mom and dad had a rule that we couldn’t wake them up until eight o’clock. Sometimes we would watch t.v. but most of the time we would look at the presents and play a guessing game to see if we knew what was in them. Every year my mom says “it looks like Santa’s sleigh tipped over in here” because we have a small living room and we usually get ten presents each and when there are four kids and two parents then there isn’t a lot of room on the floor. One year my oldest sister had Christmas at our house with her two kids and her husband because their house wasn’t ready to be moved into yet and we couldn’t even see the floor because there were so many presents. My favorite present that I ever got was a a terra climber. It is a remote controlled car that kind of looks like an alligator with a long tail. Besides the presents, Santa also left a bowl of apples, oranges and candy cane; another bowl of the same candy we got in our stockings; and a third bowl of a bunch of different kinds of nuts on the kitchen table. He also left a note with them. One year the note said he had to take some carrots out of our fridge because Rudolph was hungry but he took the whole bag and left it empty on the front lawn. After we finish opening the presents we call grandma and tell her everything we got then we clean up and go to her house for this present exchange and lunch. When we get done at grandmas, we come home and open all our stuff and throw all the garbage away so the garbage truck can pick it up the next day. All of the plastic stuff goes in the recycle bin and the smallest person has to climb in and smash it down because there is so much stuff. All the paper and cardboard gets taken out to the fire-pit in the backyard and dad burns it so we have room in the garbage. I remember one year dad couldn’t get it to light after he dumped a little gas on it and when he finally got it started it made a great big ball of fire. When that happened the fire pit was about ten feet from the house so when it was spring dad moved the fire-pit farther from the house. My favorite thing about Christmas is trading presents with my extended family, decorating the tree with my mom and sisters, and making candy with my grandma

Letter Written by Katherine Trickey to Her Folks Dated October 10, 1945

[Transcription begins] 10 Oct 45 10.30 PM Dear Folks, Taking the CQ’s place in the orderly room for a few minutes so’ll [so I’ll] have time to write just a short note. Marj and I went to Macon this afternoon and just got back. We shopped some and of all things I found some Christmas presents for the kids and couldn’t resist buying them!!! It’s pretty early but I figured I’d better get them while I saw them. We went to see G.I. Joe, Ernie Pyle’s story. Very realistic, but of course unpleasant. I sent another box of things home – use what you want but I think there is little but my clothes in it. Later I shall send a box marked Xmas packages which you can leave unopened till I get home I guess. I won’t send it for a few weeks probably anyway. I’ll also have at least one more box of books and clothes but I shan’t send them until I’m ready to move. It seems queer with people leaving all the time. Something like the Junior year at school with the Seniors leaving!! One of our girls who got out in June couldn’t stay away and has been down here visiting for the past two weeks, -- living in the barracks and even helping at her old job in the office. Seems almost unbelievable but tis true!!! I’m still as vague as ever as to what I want to do when I get out. I wrote Simmons Library School and got a catalogue – Could do that next year maybe if I could find someway to live on fifty dollars a month. Tuition would be covered OK. Have thought seriously of Civil Service because of its comparative security but really I still want a business of my own and probably will never be really content until I get one of some sort. Still no news as to where these WACs will be sent from here. The waiting is getting rather bad. We keep hearing rumors that within a few days or weeks we will be shipping but nobody knows, of course, anything definite yet. If the WACs are shipped before the middle of November, we don’t know whether those of us who will be eligible for discharge soon will be shipped or not. I rather hope we are just to see something else for a change. The CQ is coming back so will close this now. Love Kay [Transcription ends

Letter from Annie G. Reid to John Muir, 1873 Feb 24.

[4] Portage City Feb 24th 1873Dear uncle John it is evening and i am going to write to you it is papa birthday he is 38 years old. my birthday was the 29 of this last month I am 10 years old and Annie is 11 years old did you get any thing on Christ- mas i got lots of things and had a nice time to. i got a pair of gloves and a lace collar and a comb and a [illegible] Annie got a pair of gold earings and a silver brest pin and to a lace collars and some others little things Harrie got a book and a little kittie and some other little things and we 00649 [1] Portage City Feb 24th 1873 Dear Uncle John I am going to write to you and I would like you to write to me Uncle John did you get any things on Christmas I got a good many things I got a pair of gold earrings and a silver brespin and to lace colars and a nice card in my stocking and and all the famleys went up to Grandpapas on Christmas and had a nice time and Gandpapa went down town on Christmas and got us all a present he got Jessie and me a little doll and he gave us all a nice card he gave Hary and Willie Muir a little candies whirl he gave Hary and Willie a card to so you see we had a nice time. Jessie\u27s birth- day has just past and she got a nice belt and a nice ribbon and that is just past a little while ago will you tell me if you got anything or and what you got I am taking Musick lesson\u27s I haven\u27t taking 00649 [2] [in margin: 594]many lessons. Antie Johana has been very sick but she is geting well and she has been teaching the second ward school Jessie goes to the second ward school and she likes Antie very well for a teacher Antie Johana is our sunday school teacher and I like her very well we are all well and we are all going to school and we are geting along well at school. and Annie Gall[illegible]y is taking Musick lessons to and she has got a nice Organ to and she comes in every satter day and taks lessons and she said that she likes it very well Uncle John our sunday school had a nice sleigh Ride and after it we had a festable and their was a little girl fell out and hurt her alittle but not much but we had a nice time we rode from five till six and staid from six till eight. Uncle John will you writ to me soon I gess I will have to close my letter because it is geting dark. your affecti[illegible] niece. Annie G. Reid [3]all went up to grandmas on Christ to time and in the afternoon grandpa went up town and got us all a present he got me a [illegible] and Annie a doll and Annie Galloway a match box and Annie Muir a match box to. and Willie and Harrie a horse and we all had a good time Harrie wants me to tell you that he has got the three rocken chairs for his horses one is named billy and dandy and Barney and he is playing with them all the time. but i am going to bed now rite to me soon i have wrote to you before but you did not answer From your affecttian neice Jessie S Rei

State Highlights 12/14/1955

This is the student newspaper from Western State High School, the high school that was on the campus of Western Michigan University, then called State Highlights, in 1955

State Highlights 12/15/1954

This is the student newspaper from Western State High School, the high school that was on the campus of Western Michigan University, then called State Highlights, in 1954

The Cowl - v.60 - n.11 - Dec. 7, 1995

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Volume 60, Number 11 - Dec. 7, 1995. 20 pages