Merry Christmas Everybody!

Is it me or what?

As a kid. Christmas was really special. Not much more than a babe in arms. I can remember small pressies and lots of hugs from my sister. She was sixteen when I came into the world. Don't blame me for the war. That began in the September. I arrived at the end of December. Strange really. Scientist claim that in the first five years of life. You learn the most. I like so many of my generation have such vivid memories of those early war torn days. Looking back. I find myself asking. WHY?.
For me, as a kid like so many, living in poverty. Xmas morning. My parents and big sister were more enthusiastic than me. In the pillowcase at the foot of the bed, I found some pressies, and, hey, what's this. That Michael is an apple. and that is an orange.

It reall must be so hard to believe that as kids, of that era. NO, we had never seen or eaten such fruits. Despite the poverty, hardships and deprevation. The traditional spirit of Christmas tried to shine through. Carols were sung and the Salvation Army would be on the street corners playing carols etc. Folks went to church. Aged ten. I was in the choir of my local church. I loved it. I loved singing. At school we had a lesson where the teacher would allow us to sing loud and clear, such songs as. There is a tavern in the town. I will always remember Mrs Lees our music teacher. She would indicate to the class to stop singing and I would be left alone singing out.
I sang solo in Canterbury and Sowthark Cathederals.

Now many years later. Having learned the true definitions of Christmas. Now the seasonal holiday is just that. Commercialism has taken over. Now I do not celebrate Chrismas as it is so much intergrated with false religion and practices. I prefer to keep it as, an end of year thing. a family get to gether. However, whatever. Join together and let's hope and pray 2020 will be better for all of us. Mike.xx

 

@Mike Allen even in the sixties such fruits as those were a treat. I can remember going to Southampton City Hall to a huge Christmas pantomime which was follow by a Christmas tea of lovely food. This was my Dad's works annual children's xmas party. We all came away with a present and an orange. My Mum always bought tangerines and unshelled nuts that we had to use the nutcrackers on.
My 3 siblings and I all had a pillow case of gifts which included an orange and a selection box of chocolates..

Dinner, when we were very young always included a small wine glass at each of our ( childrens) place settings ...and a bottle of Britvic Pineapple juice!!! This alone made it such a special dinner...let alone the turkey!!!
Once we hit our teens we were treated to Babycham!!

Such happy magical memories. Sadly it's all too commercial now.

Let's just keep hold of our memories and lock them in our hearts.

 

I'm with you on Christmas being too commercial.

Mum recounts stories of her elder sisters husband who served on HMS Hood (wasn't on the ship when it was hit) and he brought them fruits home that they had never tasted before. Sounds crazy now, given the global market.

We go to a friends house every year to celebrate the winter solstice. Putting aside pagan and religious traditions, with our interest in gardening this is becoming a more significant date than Christmas day.

 

I seem to remember oranges being fairly common when I was a kid in the late 50s and 60s, tangerines we common at this time of the year, so don't ever remember being given them as christmas presents, although I do remember my parents saying that were often amongst their presents pre war.

Christmas was the only time of the year, as kids, we used to get port and lemon, my dad would buy a flagon of Tarragona and lots of lemonade.
Wasn't long before I was on the light ale though in my early teens or a bit earlier.

 

I remember getting a little book every year for Christmas and in my stocking an orange and a candy cane. Thought I was super lucky!

Took forever to peel the orange and get all of the pith off the pieces so this treat lasted for quite awhile. When I was about 11, I had my first mandarine orange and was thrilled at how easy it was to peel. And no seeds! Even though I rarely eat fruit these days, I still get a craving for a mandarine but now I don't seem to be able to find mandarine oranges anywhere, just tangerines.

Our dinner last night was fun and we all celebrate the occasion as just that, an time to get together with no religious connections.

I leave my outdoor decorations and lights up until New Years day but I just finished taking down all of the indoor baubles, ironed the tablecloth and napkins and put them away for next year and vacuumed and swabbed the decks.

There are still loads of cookies and other leftovers so the party still continues... oink, oink

 

Well @pete I am definitely not a pre war baby..no all year round oranges here in the late 50's early 60's. There must have been a secret supplier in your area! I can even remember all children under a certain age were given a bottle of very concentrated orange juice from the NHS to supplement the lack of fruit/ vitamins....we all loved it!
As Lori said finding one amongst your presents was a real treat!!

 

Well, maybe I remember it wrong, but definitely remember tangerines in the early 60s being pretty avilible, I was never a big eater of oranges as most, except at Christmas, were those very large Jaffa ones, which you couldn't get the pith off, as Lori says.

Oh yes remember getting the orange juice from a clinic when I was very young.

 

Hope you’re all having a fabulous festive season. Some lovely memories above, lots more being created as we speak

 

Same here..I still put an Apple and Orange in our pillow cases (or should I say Father Christmas does) and I'm on the wrong side of 50..but those memories to me are what Christmas is all about.

 

Always tangerines full of pips which is probably why (mainly seedless) satsumas were developed.

 

It probably was more for nostalgia, but citrus fruit were A Thing in 70's Christmas in Finland. The goodie bags in my parents' office Christmas dos for the kids always contained a mandarine, and Christmas oranges arrived in the shops with plenty off fuss, all newspapers giving detailed instructions on how to select the best ones. They had to feel heavy for their size, and smell ripe. The selecting in the supermarket took ages

Once we had a small paper bag each from a great-uncle who had an unsuccessful greengrocery business (a long story, involving sadly misunderstood colloquial words for certain vegetables), with a giant, and I mean GIANT pink apple in each. They were such an exotic treat that the bags were nearly thrown out before mum took a second look and found a very large denomination bank note folded in the bottom of each bag.