ON THIS DATE:
MARRIAGES:
29 Dec 1748 5x ggp Moses Barrows Jr. & Deborah Totman were married in Plympton, Ma.
29 Dec 1789 4x ggp John Ellingwood Sr. & Zerviah Abbott were married in Andover, Ma.
DEATHS:
29 Dec 1711 9x ggm Sarah (Alcock) Giddings died in Gloucester, Ma.
29 Dec 1658 11x ggf William Johnson died in Charlestown,Ma.
ON THIS DATE:
BIRTH:
28 Dec 1639 9x ggm Sarah Alcock was born in Dedham, Ma.
MARRIAGE:
28 Dec 1670 8x ggp Richard Willis Jr & Patience Bonham were married in East Bridgewater, Ma.
DEATHS:
28 Dec 1673 9x ggm Grace (Lee) Fairbanks died in Lancaster, Ma.
28 Dec 1728 10x ggm Mary (Newton) Johnson died in Marlboro, Ma.
28 Dec 1715 8x ggm Mary (Dunster) Willard died jn Charlestown, Ma.
Christmas Eve was sometimes hectic in our family, especially
those years when we lived in Dorchester, because Mom and Dad
would drive around to Mom’s cousins’ houses to drop off gifts for
the kids. Sometimes my sister and I went along but as we got
older and more responsible we’d stay home while the gifts run
was made.
Then there were Christmas Eves where we were all home
and spent the night wrapping presents for each other or other
relatives. I think I liked those quieter nights best.
The past two decades or so Christmas Eve is spent at my sister
and brother-in-law’s house. Gifts are given out and opened and
my sister’s youngest son Mike(now in his twenties) often ends
up with the handing out the gifts duties since he’s the youngest
family member. Then there’s food served buffet style. At that
point, I am just trying to stay awake because I’ve been dealing
with the last minute shoppers at the store all day and a good
meal on top of that makes me want to take a nap. And next
day I go back over for dinner.
All in all Christmas Eves over the years have been good ones,
sometimes saddened by losses of loved ones but we all enjoy
being together and relaxing after the end of the Christmas rush.
2009 Update: A new tradition began last year with the Christmas
Eve festivities moving to the home of my niece Sarah and her
husband Steve. And this year I am actually having a day off on
Christmas Eve, so I won't be so tired and sleepy!
2010 Update: Christmas Eve will be at my sister's this year and I'm
looking forward to some lasagna. I expect that Michael will be helped
with giving out gifts this year by my 2 year old grandnephew Noah!
2011 Update: Christmas Eve will again be at my sister's house and
there will be lasagna! One change this year: since the bookstore closed
I haven't been working the Christmas shopping rush so I may not fall
asleep as early as I have in past years!
2012 Update: Christmas Eve was at my sister Cheryl's house with her
family and my brother Phil and his oldest son Phil. It was a great evening
and much lasagna was eaten.
2013 Update: Christmas Eve will be at Chery & Pete's house tonight with
gift opening and food. Christmas Day will be at my nephew Paul's house
One nice change the past few years since my retirement is not having to
work on Christmas Eve. There were nights where one manager at the
Borders store would take FOREVER to close down the store, so it
might be two hours before the unlucky few of us working the close
could go home. Luckily, the other two managers I worked for there
in later years were just as anxious to get home as the staff was, so
we were out pretty quickly. And there was the Christmas Eve we
were all out of the store, the alarm was armed, and all the cash
registers were already locked away in the safe.... and two teenagers
ran up and asked if the store was still open and could we sell them
a cd they needed. No, we didn't reopen the store. If we had, there
would have been more people showing up and wanting to come in.
Ah memories...
2014 Update:
Looking forward to tonight at Cheryl & Pete's. This will a special Christmas
as it's the first for their new granddaughters Lillianna and Abigail. And the
torch has been passed by Mike to a new generation as their grandson Noah
now handing out the gifts to everyone.
2023 update:
It's been a few years (due to Covid) since the last time I'd done Christmas Eve. This year it was at Paul and Jenn's home. Niece Sarah took this photo of me with the grandnieces and grandnephews.
((Originally posted in 2007))
Originally posted in 2007
You know that part of the movie A Christmas Story where
the family goes out to buy the tree and the parents have a little
argument over it? Well, I laugh every time I see it because
like so much in that film it echoes my childhood.
Every Christmas when I was younger either we’d go shopping
for a tree or Dad would buy one on his way home from work.
Now as regular readers of this blog know by now, my Dad was
from Maine. But even more than that, he had experience in trees.
He’d helped his father cutting down trees, and he’d worked for a
landscaper in the Boston area when he’d first come home from
the war. Mom would remind Dad of his experience every year
when the tree was fixed into the tree stand, the rope cut from
the branches and the inevitable big empty space was discovered.
Usually the problem was solved by rotating the tree so the empty
spot was in the back facing the wall. The lights were strung(and
here we differed from the film. We never blew out the fuses.),
then the garlands, the ornaments, and the icicles. Finally the
angel went up on top of the tree and we were all set. With
judicious watering the tree would last us until around “Little
Christmas” at which time it would be undecorated and deposited
curbside to await the dump truck.
Of course our tree paled in comparison to the giant my Mom’s
Uncle Tommy and Aunt Francis had in their home down in
Milton. It was so big they cut the top off and the branches didn’t
taper at the top. They were all the same size: large. I could
never believe they'd gotten that big a tree into the house in the
first place!
Then the first artificial Christmas trees hit the market and Mom
began vowing she was going to get one as she vacuumed up pine
needles from the rug. Eventually we did but that provided us
with new challenges, such as assembling the tree.
As we all grew older the prospect of trying to get the tree
together became less enchanting and so it too was replaced, this
time by a small ceramic musical tree that was lit from within by
a light bulb. I used that tree myself for several years after Mom
died although I felt no great urge to wind it up for the music. It
lasted until a few years back when I dropped it and the base
cracked.
Its replacement is a small artificial tree that I bought at work with
my employee discount along with a garland. Last year some
friends sent me some snowmen ornaments for it. I haven’t put it
up yet but think I will this weekend. It fits on top of the tv.
And at some point over the holidays I’ll see that scene from A
Christmas Story again and grin.
2009 update: I bought a small string of battery powered lights
to add to my tree last week!
2010 update: I lost my Christmas stuff in my move last April so
I'll be picking it up another one at work soon.
2011 update
I bought another teeny Christmas tree with lights and ornaments
at Borders. Since the company closed, it will remind me of my
store when I set it out each year.
2012 update
I haven't put up my teeny Christmas tree yet but plan to do it this weekend.
2013 Update
I'll be putting the tree out tomorrow. I may have to buy a new string of
lights this year since some of the teeny weeny bulbs may have died last year.
2014 Update
I haven't put the teeny Christmas tree up yet again. I think I will do
it tomorrow, though.
2015 Update
The teeny Christmas tree will go up this weekend as soon as I decide
where it will go this year.
2018 Update:
I
still have the teeny Christmas tree which I haven't put up yet.. I may
spring for maybe a few of those electric candles for my apartment
window, though.
2019 Update:
I'll probably put the teeny tree up this coming weekend.
2020 Update:My windows are being replaced this week so I'll put the tree out after the mayhem is over.
2021 Update:
I bought a new foot tall tree and will add the ornaments to it tomorrow.
2023 Update
I bought a porcelain tree with minivillage that were on sale on Amazon after last Christmas.
;
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I once worked several years
for a New England based toy store chain. At the end of the
Christmas Party my first year there(this would be the year before
the incident with the car and the tractor trailer box)I was called
into the warehouse office and told that they didn’t need me there
after the holiday but they could use me at the Dedham
warehouse where they stored all the returned damaged toys.
So the week after Christmas I found myself in a small warehouse
amidst stacks of Chatty Kathy’s and See and Say’s and Barbie
dolls. Sleds that just needed to have a screw or bolt replaced
were broken up with sledge hammers.
It seemed like such a waste when I found out the other toys
would be returned to the toy company for credit. Couldn’t the
sleds be repaired and given to kids?
No, I was told. I won’t tell you the reason I was given because it’s
pretty disgusting but given the nature of retail it’s not surprising.
So I went from being a Santa’s helper to being the Grinch’s
henchman.
Eventually I was sent back to the main warehouse. A year later I
left the company and found another job.
And the toy store chain? It went out of business a year or so
afterwards.
I like to think of that as a cosmic lump of coal in their corporate
stockings.
2011 Update: That reason that the company person gave was
that if people got the repaired sleds free they wouldn't be spending
their money at our stores to buy new ones. When I pointed out that
a lot of people couldn't afford to buy a lot of gifts I was told that
parents would find a way to spend money on their kids so they'd
have a good Christmas, including folks on welfare.
The only good thing I can say about that whole conversation was that
it took place long after the Christmas holidays so it didn't ruin the
Christmas spirit for me that year.(That came years later when I
started working in retail on the sales floor.)
2013 Update: For those wondering what company did this, it was
Child World. It's been about 25 years since they went out of business
now.
ON THIS DATE:
BIRTHS:
20 Dec 1640 11x ggm Sarah Maverick was born in Charlestown, Ma.
20 Dec 1661 8x ggm Sarah Chandler was born in Andover, Ma.
20 Dec 1662 8x ggf Benjamin Abbott was born in Andover, Ma.
20 Dec 1681 8x ggm Elizabeth Lazell was born in Hingham, Ma.
MARRIAGES:
20 Dec 1644 8x ggp George Bonham & Sarah Morton were married in Plymouth, Ma.
DEATH:
20 Dec 1644 9x ggf John Kelley died in Newbury, Ma.
20 Dec 1681 9x ggf John Prescott died in Lancaster, Ma.
20 Dec 1768 7x ggf John Bancroft Jr. died in Lynn, Ma.
20 Dec 1756 6x ggf Mark Perkins was born in No. Bridgewater, Ma.
Originally published in Dec. 2007.
ON THIS DATE:
DEATHS:
19 Dec 1707 7x ggf Robert Barrows died in Plymouth. Ma
19 Dec 1886 2x ggf Patrick Kelly died in Edinburgh, Scotland
19 Dec 1702 8x ggm Mary (Wilkes) Woodbury died in Beverly, Ma.
ON THIS DATE:
BIRTH:
18 Dec 1674 6x ggf John Collins was born at Eastham, Ma.
DEATHS:
18 Dec 1620 10x ggf James Chilton died on Mayflower in Provincetown, Ma.
18 Dec 1685 8x ggf John Clarke died in Lynn, Ma.
18 Dec 1662 11x ggf Isaac Morrill died in Roxbury, Ma.
18 Dec 1696 9x ggm Hannah (Larkin) Johnson died in Marlboro, Ma.
Every Christmas Mom would break out the Andy Williams
Christmas Album to play on the stereo. There was also a Nat
King Cole album and a Mitch Miller “Sing Along With Mitch”
Christmas edition. But for me, even rock and roll dinosaur
that I am, it’s the Andy Williams album that “feels” like
Christmas to me. I need to hear that "It's the Most
Wonderful Time of the Year."
As I’ve gotten older and my musical tastes expanded, I find
myself listening to New Age and Celtic Christmas music. And
Josh Groban just put out a holiday album that we’ve played at
the bookstore since Thanksgiving and it’s easy on the ears.
As for caroling, well, there are some things that one should
never do in public and in my case, singing is one of them!
2010 Update: I splurged this year for the "Now That;s What
I Call Christmas Essentials Collection." It has the Andy Williams
song and Nat King Cole's version of "Christmas Song" on it,
and I plan to play it Thursday afternoon on my day off!
2011 Update Now that Borders has gone out of business and
I avoid the radio stations doing the "All Christmas, All the Time"
since mid-November, I haven't burned out on Christmas music
as early as previous years. But unfortunately, I am now tired of
"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year". Staples use of it
in the back to school ads was funny. But this year, the song has
been overused by retail stores and car dealerships so much
that it's like beating a dead reindeer! Bah, humbug!
2012 Update: My favorite piece of Christmas music this year
is this performance by Jimmy Fallon, The Roots, and Mariah
Carey. It makes me smile.
ON THIS DATE:
BIRTHS:
15 Dec 1666 9x ggm Martha Fiske was born in Watertown, Ma.
15 Dec 1665 9x ggf William Johnson was born in Marlboro, Ma.
MARRIAGES:
15 Dec 1687 9x ggp Thomas Drury & Rachel Rice were married in Sudbury, Ma
15 Dec 1714 8x ggp Joseph Boyden & Rebecca Paine were married in Dedham, Ma.
15 Dec 1726 6x ggp Ephraim Houghton & Sarah Sawyer were married in Lancaster, Ma.
DEATHS:
15 Dec 1668 10x ggf Andrew Grantham died in Newbury, Ma.
15 Dec 1731 8x ggm Elizabeth (Hedge) Barnes died in Yarmouth, Ma.
((Originally posted in 2007))
I don’t get a lot of Christmas cards, mostly because I don’t send
out a lot myself. I get some from the family and a few from friends
but since I’m not much of a social animal there’s no more than perhaps
a half dozen each year sitting atop my tv.
In years past the amount of cardage fluctuated. When I
was a kid there were a lot of cards, usually taped to the
door frames or sitting atop the end tables in the living room.
When we moved to Abington they were displayed across the
mantel piece or taped around the edges of the mirror above it.
The years when my folks were actively involved in the VFW
brought the highest number of season’s greetings. Mom would
spend a few hours herself signing and addressing cards to be
sent out. But as she and her generation of family and friends
grew older the flood of Christmas cards dwindled. Several years
Mom even had some unused cards left over when she finished.
I tend not to like sending “mushy” cards so I usually try to find
something funny. Although this year I may be giving people a
look at a certain dancing elf via e-mail!
2010 Update: I'm going to see what sort of selection we have at
the store tomorrow and hopefully find something funny, although
last year I sent out cards that were more "New England-y"
2011 Update Since Borders has closed I'm going to have to take
a long walk over to Target soon to get some boxed cards!
2012 Update I'm waiting for my box card order from B&N
to arrive.
2013 Update I haven't bought any Christmas cards yet. I'm also
trying to figure out what to do with the leftover cards from the
last few years.
2014 Update:
I'll probably buy my cards this weekend. I don't really start thinking
about Christmas cards until right about now, although I've already
received one this holiday season.
The past few years I've taken to displaying the incoming cards on my
bookcase, as in this photo from a few years ago:
2019 Update: I received a few cards so far this year,,
and I actually sent out mine earlier than in past years so hopefully they
have arrived at their destinations before the holidays.
2020 Update: I sent some cards out today (8th Dec), and have already received a few. I might take a photo of them if more come in.
2021 Update: I sent mine out a bit late (last week). Hopefully they make it in time for Chrismas. Here's the cards I've received.
2023 Update:
I got off to a rocky start this year when I couldn't find the boxed Christmas cards. So I ordered new ones from Amazon. And the next day I found the missing cards stored inside the ottoman. Arrgh.Now if I could only find that address list!
ON THIS DATE:
BIRTHS:
12 Dec 1672 7x ggf Abiell Kelley was born in Newbury, Ma.
12 Dec 1738 5x ggf Caleb Coburn was born in Dracut, Ma.
MARRIAGES:
12 Dec 1719 6x ggp Ebenezer Dunham & Abigail Smith were married in Salem, Ma.
12 Dec 1646 9x ggp George Abbott Jr. & Hannah Chandler were married in Roxbury, Ma.
12 Dec 1661 8x ggp Thomas West & Elizabeth Jackson were married in Beverly, Ma.
DEATH:
12 Dec 1690 10x ggf Thomas Ellis died in Medfield, Ma.
((First published in December, 2007))
I don’t recall many holiday parties from my earlier childhood. In our
family folks were too busy working or shopping at Christmas time. And
when we lived in Dorchester the apartments weren’t
really big
enough to hold large parties in, although there might have been one or
two. If so, they would have followed the rules of other adult parties my
folks had: after saying hello to the adults,
my sister and I would be sent off to our beds to eventually fall asleep while listening to the adults
in the other room laughing at Rusty Warren records. We wondered what "roll me over in the clover" meant.
As an adult, most of my Christmas party experience has been at work, including one at a now
defunct toy chain warehouse(more on that job later) when I was in my early twenties. It snowed
when
I left for home. My car at the time was an Olds 98 and being in a hurry
to get home, I didn’t completely clean the rear windshield. I backed
up, turning the car around….
…and smashed my rear windshield by backing the car up under a tractor trailer box front end as
if it were a big rig hooking up.
The good news was, my Dad worked in the auto glass repair business.
The bad news was I had to call him and tell him what I’d done.
It was an …umm…interesting conversation.
2013 Update:
I think this is my favorite out of all the things I've posted every
year about past Christmases. I remember the windshield incident with a
smile now but at the time I was a nervous wreck waiting for Dad's
reaction, especially since I'd had a few highballs at the Christmas party
which probably had a lot to do with my backing into the trailer. I also
had to drive the car home
with no rear windshield in a snowstorm and I was worried I'd get pulled over by the police. When
I
got home we covered the broken window with something, probably a cut
open garbage bag and masking tape, and a few days later Dad found a
replacement at Goldy's, a local junkyard.
Most
of all, I remember Dad getting out of his car when he drove up to the
Child World warehouse, taking a puff on his cigarette, and giving me
The Look before asking me "How the hell did you manage to do that?"
ON THIS DATE:
MARRIAGES:
11 Dec 1693 7x ggp Robert Woodbury & Mary West were married in Beverly, Ma.
11 Dec 1674 9x ggp John Nutting & Mary Lakin were married in Groton, Ma.
11 Dec 1651 10 ggp John Fiske & Sarah Wyeth were married in Watertown, Ma.
((first published in 2007)
When I was a kid the holiday dinners rotated between our place
and my Uncle Ed’s and Aunt Emily’s. If Thanksgiving was at our
house, then Christmas would be at theirs. Since Emily is Italian
the holiday had an extra element for the dinner. We’d eat all the
traditional food: turkey, stuffing, veggies, and then after that was
cleared, Aunt Emily’s mom Nonnie Cappadano would bring out
the Italian food: lasagna, meatballs, stuffed sausages, and other
great dishes. To this day at Thanksgiving there is usually lasagna
served along with the turkey and I had leftovers of both sent
home with me here afterward.
Since we now usually gather at my sister’s for Christmas Eve to
open gifts and eat, the food is a bit less formal, sometimes buffet
style with meatballs, cold cuts, and salad. Then Christmas Day
comes another big meal.
And that’s how an Irish Catholic family eats a lot of Italian at
holiday time.
2010 Update: I've had some health...umm...adventures this past
year which required I change my diet habits. On the good side,
I've lost 100 lbs. But boy, do I miss Italian food. So I'm
looking forward to Christmas Eve at my sister's or niece's
house when I can have some lasagna (albeit in smaller
portions than in the past) and maybe one or two of those
cookies with the chocolate kisses!
2011 Update: Christmas was at my sister's house last year and
the food as usual was great. But then again it always is on Christmas
wherever it may be!
ON THIS DATE:
BIRTH:
10 Dec 1651 7x ggm Abigail Trumbull was born in Rowley, Ma.
MARRIAGE:
10 Dec 1718 6x ggp Elisha West and Mary Bearse were married in Plympton, Ma.
DEATH:
10 Dec 1677 10x ggf Thomas Larkin died in Charlestown, Ma.
10 Dec 1691 10x ggf Thomas Cushman died in Plymouth, Ma
(originally published in Dec. 2007)
My family was fortunate in that we never lived in the sort of place
where Christmas outdoor decorations becomes a blood sport.
Yes, people strung lights in their shrubbery or along their house
gutters but there was never anyone determined to turn their
front yard into the North Pole’s Southern Branch Office.
Now for light shows back then you went to someplace religious,
like Our Lady of La Sallette Shrine in North Attleboro or the local
cemetery with it’s entrance lit up, or even just cruised a stretch
of highway to look at the neighborhood lights that might be seen
from a distance as you drove by.
We didn’t really have outside lights ourselves until we left Boston
for Abington. Up until then the only lights other than on our
Christmas tree were the electric candles we put on windowsills.
But at the house Dad did the obligatory shrubbery and gutter
displays as well as one other spot: the apple tree in the front yard.
Dad had experience both with wiring and tree climbing so putting
a string of lights up in a small apple tree was a piece of cake. It
was the taking down part that didn’t seem to work at least for
the tree. One year, long after the other outside lights were down
and packed away, the lights still were hanging in the apple tree.
I’m not sure exactly when he took them down but I do know it
was well after Spring had sprung. I think they were even plugged
in one or two nights. I don’t know the reasons why they were
still there: my Dad’s sense of humor, perhaps? Or maybe an
instance where Dad’s Maine stubbornness and the Irish
stubbornness of my Mom brought about some impasse on the issue?
On my way home the other night from work I noticed at least
three of those large hot air snow globe scenes on front lawns.
Those families must have big electricity bills!
2010 Update: As I discovered in 2008, the apple tree in
the front yard of the house is long gone. But a news report
the other night made me think of Dad. The holiday
lighting ceremony at Braintree has been postponed a week
because squirrels had eaten through the wires.
The lights had been left up all year since last Christmas!
2011 Update: The big snowstorms last winter had one
interesting effect. Some of the homes with heavily
decorated outside yards remained that way until
the snow melted. One home in particular had an inflatable
Santa and other decorations buried under snow drifts
and you could just see the tops of them as you drove by
the house. I think they were there until mid-March!
2013 Update: It's a bit early yet apparently for the lights
to go up for Christmas around here. I don't work anymore
and haven't driven around much after dark so I haven't
seen any houses lit up yet. I did, however, spot two of
those big inflatable figures on someone's front lawn yesterday
afternoon.
2014 Update
I'm not sure there be many houses lit up this year, or that they
will be many elaborate displays. The electric companies in the
New England area have raised their rates over 30% and that
may be too much for many people to afford to put up Christmas
lights.
2015 Update
There's only a few homes along the main streets in the area that have put up
their outside lights so far this year. But there are some in specific neighborhoods
and I've noticed word gets out via Facebook on where the best displays are to take
your kids to see them.
2016 Update:
Since my retirement I don't drive much after dark any more, so I haven't seen
any houses decorated so far. But there's a contest for best decorations going on,
and a Christmas Tree lighting going on at Island Grove as well,
2018 Update:
There's a really good Christmas display over on Lake Street by Island
Grove that gets a lot of visitors every year. It looks like a lot of
work to put together. But unfortunately some unusually high winds
knocked over the big Christmas tree at Island Grove after it was lit
just the week before.
ON THIS DATE:
BIRTH:
6 Dec 1668 7x ggf Samuel Herrick was born in Beverly, Ma.
MARRIAGE:
6 Dec 1770 5x ggp Samuel Haskell & Ruth Safford were married in Harvard, Ma.
DEATH:
6 Dec 1681 10x ggm Sarah (Fosdick) Holden died in Watertown, Ma.
6 Dec 1705 8x ggm Elizabeth (Gorge) Reith died in Marblehead, Ma.
6 Dec 1864 4x ggf James Dunham died in Hebron, Me.
6 Dec 1820 5x ggf Reuben Packard died in Hebron, Me.
ON THIS DATE:
BIRTH:
4 Dec 1643 8x ggf Isaac Woodbury Sr was born in Beverly. Ma,
4 Dec 1696 8x ggm Mary Johnson was born in Marlborough, Ma.
MARRIAGES:
4 Dec 1652 10x ggp Thomas Brewer & Elizabeth Graves were married in Lynn, Ma.
4 Dec 1717 6x ggp Moses Barrows Sr. & Mary Carver were married in Plympton, Ma.
DEATHS:
4 Dec 1853 3x ggm Sally (Houghton) Dunham died in Paris, Me.
4 Dec 1669 10x ggm Ann (Brown ) Hawkes died in Lynn, Ma.
