Morris Federation Christmas

In December, ladies of the Morris Federation met at the Feed Mill for a Christmas luncheon. The program, titled “Legends, Symbols, and Traditions of Christmas,” was directed by Marsha Lee and was presented by the members themselves.

First, each member drew a piece of paper describing a symbol or legend associated with Christmas and shared that story. Some better-known symbols included candy canes, stockings, candles, nutcrackers, poinsettias, and Santa. Others were less known, such as the donkey, Christmas spider, robin, pickle, etc.

Members then took turns talking about their family traditions or special memories of Christmas.

Velva Riddle remembered Christmases at home with the grandparents. There were six sons in the family (which could be a handful) but wives and children also joined in. She remembered taking her high school daughters, Anita and Anne, to see “The Nutcracker” presented in Waco on the Baylor campus. “The girls were delighted with it!”

Marilyn Secrest and JoAnn Rogers, who are sisters, recalled “going out to cut down a tree” and “going to their grandparents’ house to celebrate on Christmas Day.”

Catherine Taylor said, “Oh, yes! I remember how we started Christmas day! Mother was a florist, so the first thing we had to do was get up and deliver poinsettia plants all over town!”

Grace Tennison said, “I believe one thing I enjoyed most was the morning we got up, ate breakfast, then all got in the car, and went out to find and chop down the perfect Christmas tree. Next we took it home, set it up, and began to decorate it.”

Marcelle Parrish-Russell, who grew up in Louisiana, remembered her father announcing he was “going to change his birth date to a week before Christmas this coming year. He was actually born on December 25^th, but he was tired of getting only one gift for Christmas and birthday instead of a gift for each occasion!”

Grace Dallimore, another Louisianan, said her favorite memory was “putting up a huge Christmas tree in their house and then looking at all the bright decorations in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Everyone on the block decorated their home and yard, and they also enjoyed fireworks on each block.”

Bennie Hansson remembered their first Christmas with daughter, Luci. “She loved the Christmas tree, but she knocked off too many glass ornaments. So we started over with plastic ornaments and used them for several more years while Luci was young.” Bennie also thought that her husband, Bill, loved Christmas more than anyone in the world. “Our first Christmas, we didn’t have a lot of money, but I bought him a record and wrapped it neatly and placed it under the tree. Somehow…it got unwrapped (by him), and he had to take the record back into town to get it rewrapped so he could place it back under the tree.”

Sue Vernon recalled going out to cut down a tree and returning home with 3-4 trees in the back of the pick-up! “Well, you find one tree you really like, then a little farther down the road, you find another you like better, and …” she explained. She also related a tradition that her mother, Martha Ann Yows, shared. “When mother was a child, Santa brought the Christmas tree. When the children woke up Christmas morning, the tree was already set up with candles burning on the ends of branches.”

Nancy Garvin spoke of one Christmas when there was a large package under the tree with her name on it. “I was so curious and anxious to open that box and had no idea what might be in it, but I knew that there was no way I could open it until Christmas morning! Of all things, that morning Dad woke up hungry, so we all had to wait until breakfast was over before opening gifts!” Someone asked Nancy, “What was in the box?” After thinking a few seconds, Nancy laughed and responded, “You know? I don’t even remember!”

Mary Anne Leib recalled, “Our family used to dress up as characters from the Christmas story on Christmas morning, but we haven’t done that in many years. This year, however, the younger generation of nieces and nephews have decided that they want to renew that tradition! So, that really seems to please everyone, and we are looking forward to doing this once again.”

Not her (Marsha Lee’s) favorite Christmas, by any means, but one she’ll probably always remember was the last one she spent with her husband, Mack. “He was very ill and in a nursing home, but I tried to decorate the room. I brought a Santa, a poinsettia plant, and a backwoods skier that had buttons on them saying “Push Me,” which made them all break into songs. Then I brought a Christmas tree and a snowman that were motion activated. The nurses had a good time trying out all the items and bringing in others to try them, too. Their favorites were the tree which opened its mouth, swayed, and bellowed out a song, and the snowman which sat in the bathroom and made offbeat, punny comments. You’d hear “Go over by that tree” or “Go into the bathroom” when nurses came in, day or night. In addition, a cousin of Mack’s and her daughter sent him 25 fairly big poinsettia plants (they had planned to send 50, so we were glad they checked with the home beforehand) along with 30 red balloons and 30 green balloons. Mack’s room was the talk of the home!  But it helped us both and gave us some laughs, and for sure, it will be a Christmas I’ll never forget!” 

Christmas is celebrated in many ways. Sometimes the ways people observe Christmas are based on legends of long ago (mistletoe, hanging stockings, the Christmas tree, Santa Claus, the yule log). Sometimes they are based on family customs handed down (cutting down our own tree, preparing certain foods in certain ways, opening gifts at a special time). But Christmas is a time of peace, joy, love, and warmth. Most of us will always have special thoughts and memories associated with this time of year.