Advent Theme

My childhood memories of television during the holiday season are of a plethora of Christmas shows and specials which would start around the second week of December.

The broadcast premiers of “Merry Christmas Charlie Brown”, “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”, “Frosty the Snowman”, “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” are memories from my childhood. It was usually broadcast once a year and you had to be in front of the television on that night or you would miss it.

Then all the variety shows would have their Christmas specials such as Donny and Marie, Carol Burnett, Andy Williams and Sonny and Cher. There were movie stars that would have a Christmas special such as Bob Hope, and Bing Crosby. They would sometimes bring their entire family on the shows to sing and perform skits. The regular television sitcoms would do a special show for the holidays and it was fun to see what kind of predicaments they would get into.

You would get a broadcast of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “A Christmas Carol” with Alistair Sims, “Miracle on 34th Street” and “The Bishop’s Wife”. A favourite scene from “The Bishop’s Wife” is Dudley, Julia and Sylvester skating in the park. “A Christmas Carol” is best seen in black and white as it does not have the same feeling in colour. You might get a broadcast of several Bing Crosby movies such as “The Bells of St. Mary’s,” “White Christmas” and “Holiday Inn.” “Holiday Inn” is the first time Bing Crosby sang “White Christmas.” These days “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Miracle on 34th Street” seem to be the only two mid twentieth century Christmas movies shown on television anymore.

Watching the holiday specials would be a family event. We could all watch together and sometimes sing along to the songs. The movies became a tradition as well. “A Christmas Carol” was watched on Christmas Eve.

The old children’s classics can still be seen on television so new generations can develop an appreciation for them. If you miss them on television you can get the shows on DVD so that you can watch them when it suits your schedule and with no commercial interruption.

Today there are new shows that have become family favourites such as “Shrek the Halls,” the live action movie of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and the “Home Alone” movies. It would be nice if they could coexist with the old black and white holiday classics without any being excluded. This way a new generation could develop an appreciation for them and they will not be lost.

©2010 – Blair Archival Research

When I was in school we always had a Christmas pageant. Each grade would present their rendition of something with a Christmas theme. Mums would spend the weeks up to the pageant making costumes for their children. It was held on a weekday evening in the gym and all the parents would be seated on the hard wooden chairs. Dads would be lined up along the back wall of the gym because they were delayed at work and late getting to the show.

I was in the choir so we opened and closed the pageant. One year my brother’s grade did the twelve days of Christmas and he was the partridge in the pear tree. There were the usual suspects of Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer being reenacted on stage.

A teacher would sometimes have to step in as an under study because someone was crying in the dressing room and would not go on stage. There was also the child who was a natural on stage and did not want to leave it.

We had worked on the pageant for nearly a month before the performance. This was our big night to show our parents what we had been doing. There was only one performance. They were always fun and you could hear the parents laughing at the antics on stage. These days the antics on stage show up on America’s Funniest Videos.
©2010 – Blair Archival Research

The most memorable Christmas for me is the year my niece was born. My sister in law went into hospital a few days before the holidays. She was near the end of her second trimester and having difficulty with her pregnancy. My nephew, who was two at the time, stayed with my parents.

We worked hard to make it a nice Christmas for him. On Christmas Eve my parents, brother, nephew and I slept under the same roof. We were up early and opened presents with my nephew. Thomas the tank engine was at his height so we had lots of trains rolling down the tracks in the middle of the livingroom.

My Aunt had invited us to her place in Toronto for dinner so we left around mid afternoon and traveled in convoy. We enjoyed the afternoon with my Grandmother and my Aunt. My nephew was getting tired so we headed home. My brother had driven on ahead to get my nephew into bed. When we arrived home he was walking out the door having heard from his wife. It seems my niece was not waiting until St. Patrick’s Day to be born.

She was born on Boxing Day. I remember my mother waking me up in the wee hours of the morning saying I had a niece and that all were doing well. She had to stay in hospital for a few months but she steadily gained weight and strength.

Today she is a strong and healthy girl who is a very talented figure skater.
©2010 – Blair Archival Research