To the editor:
I believe in Santa, the Santa who lived in my world back in the thirties. He was as real to me as anyone in my family or in the circle of friends I played with on North Main Street back then.
I knew he lived somewhere way up north and that he never showed up ‘til Christmas. Of course I never saw him but I knew if I didn’t hurry up and go to sleep that night he wouldn’t come. Funny how he always seemed to know when I fell off to sleep.
Sometimes late in the night I’d wake up and hear someone out in the other room. Terrified, I’d pull the blankets up over my head. Santa would leave if he knew I was awake!
Those two weeks were almost too hard to handle, those two weeks leading up to the Big Day!
One day during that time, we’d walk into our school and everywhere we looked we’d see paper snowflakes, rings of colored paper made into long chains and pictures of Santa and Christmas trees hung everywhere, and then the best thing ever – the Christmas play! Oh, if I could just play Mary or maybe the Christmas angel this year. Never happened – the popular kids got those parts. In the Rhythm Band I got to play the sticks, but that was OK, it was almost Christmas!
The world, for those two weeks, turned magical. A trip to town just made it more so. The lights strung across Main Street turned the night into a circus tent.
Parents insisted on walking nicely, hard to do when your feet told you to run and skip and dance to the wonder of it all.
Back then there were no store Santas. The only one you saw was the one who came to school just before school vacation. He’d come in the back way with a sack over his shoulder and Ho Ho Ho-ing all the way down the aisle. We’d whistle and shout Santa Claus, but we knew he was just someone’s dad. The real Santa was up north packing his sleigh!
There were hard times back in the thirties. There were few jobs to be found and talk of war put everyone on edge. This all passed over our heads, though. We were too busy looking at all the catalogs, ever checking up on what new toys Santa had been working on the past year.
Even the school bullies turned good guys, no sense taking chances where Santa was concerned! Everyone’s parents seemed to smile more and the rest of the grownups didn’t seem quite so imposing!
The world was a great place to be back then at Christmas with all its excitement and anticipation.
Today it starts way too early. Those two weeks that we had has now turned into two months. Stores and businesses anxious to get started with the holiday sales turn fall into winter, whether we want it or not. Turkey and pumpkin pie has not digested before party platters and ribbon candy appear on the shelves.
And I guess I’m as bad as them because Nov. 30 I began making space for all my lights, ribbon and trimming that I’ve gathered during my summer garage saling! After all, there is barely three weeks and a half ‘til the Big Day. So much to do!
“Silent Night” and “Oh Come All Ye Faithful” remind me just how this sacred season came about. The Christ Child born so long ago is with us still, to bring hope to the hopeless, peace to all mankind and love to be shared with those around us.
If my decorations bring a smile to just one depressed, hopeless soul, then I have done my job. And any small thing that I do to bring happiness is His love that I share with you.
So I will keep Christmas in my heart and one of the things that helps me do this is the remembrances of those long ago days that included Santa and his magic!
Each Christmas Eve, just before I drift off, I listen for sleigh bells and, you know, I hear them!
Teresa Tompkins
Presque Isle
