Preparing For A Visit From St. Nicholas in 1959 - jim Young “Childhood joyland, mystic merry toyland, Once you pass its borders, you can ne’er return again.” - Glen MacDonough and Victor Herbert If you shop at Costco, you might think that the Christmas season begins in late July. However, I remember the days when Christmas items didn’t appear on the shelves in Woolworths until after the Hallowe’en stuff was put away in early November. The first snowfall of the season was an indication that Christmas was quickly approaching. The Eaton’s Santa Claus Parade on TV was also a pretty reliable sign that the time was nigh. But for me, Christmas officially began with an Eaton’s Christmas Catalogue. And Oh! What a glorious time it was! I remember coming home from school to see the Eaton’s Christmas Catalogue sitting with the mail on the passthrough to the dining room. I had two older sisters and I knew I would have to bide my time until they had a chance to have their rightful first look....
Four Generations - jim Young "We didn't realize we were making memories. We thought we were just having fun." - anon We all have a tendency to look back on the proverbial “good old days” with fondness. Of course putting a time frame on when the “good old days” actually were would be impossible. Not only do the “good old days” fluctuate from person to person, but the “good old days” can refer to several different periods of time to even just one person. It’s all relative. The “good old days” to a five year old might be “last week” or even “yesterday”. When seniors talk about the “good old days” they may be referring to any number of years over their accumulated decades of experience. It could refer to moments spent as a child, memories from their youth as teenagers, their days of wonder and discovery as they set out on their own to seek their fortune or even the happy days of their early years of marriage and raising a family. In my recent article...
- jim Young "I’ll always feel you close to me and though you’re far from sight, I’ll search for you among the stars that shine on Christmas night." - anon In spite of what you might have learned from Bob and Doug McKenzie while listening to their version of the “Twelve Days Of Christmas”, the real Twelve Days of Christmas actually begin on December 25 and end on January 6. Over the years, however I have chosen to celebrate the Twelve Days Of Christmas on the days leading up to Christmas Day, beginning on the 13th of December and ending on the 24th. Some years, in lieu of stocking stuffers on Christmas Eve I would surprise My Shirley with 12 small individual gifts giving her one to open each day as sort of a cross between the Twelve Days Of Christmas and half of an Advent Calendar. When we were in the workforce we often celebrated the last 12 working days leading up to the Christmas holiday with employees taking turns bringing in a different snack each day for all to enjoy....
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