Wednesday, December 24, 1997

Christmas in the country was a mighty fun time

By J.T.Smith / Abilene Reporter-News

Growing up as a farm boy in the country -- Christmas was a delightful time in the rural setting.

And Foard County, in North Central Texas, was (and remains) about as rural as it gets.

Rural meant that you went out and cut your own tree.

In our case, that was always with my Dad. He had to select a balanced tree. (We couldn't dare return to the house with a tree that my mother and sister wouldn't approve).

It had to be right for the ornaments and lights -- and for the angel to go on top.

Every year, we used part of an old wagon wheel to anchor the tree in place. But a cotton blanket or "tree skirt" placed around the base of the tree would always neatly hide this fact.

Cotton had a lot more to do with Christmas than just making the tree prettier.

If the cotton gins had hummed all fall and right through Thanksgiving, that meant a good year for both Mom and Dad.

His biggest crop was cotton. An accountant, she worked as the bookkeeper for the local cotton gin.

Cotton did well. We all did well.

Mother would get a Christmas "bonus" from the cotton gin.

She would spend it on us kids, of course.

Music was part of our Christmas

My older sister was -- and is -- a highly accomplished pianist.

Music was part of our lives from a very early age at our house.

By the time I was five, I was "encouraged" to stand by the piano and sing as my sister played.

She kept all the sheet music in the piano seat.

There was "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer," "Winter Wonderland," "Frosty the Snowman" and -- of course -- "White Christmas" among the many.

And then there were the more serious songs of the season -- such as carols that you sang at church -- like "Silent Night," "Away In A Manger," "O' Little Town of Bethlehem" and "Joy To The World."

The country church doors were never locked.

We might "practice" at home or go to the Baptist or Methodist Church at Margaret, a community of about 60 people about two miles from the farm.

In such a tiny community, everyone from the Methodist Church would come over to the Baptist Church. Then everybody would go over to the Methodist Church. All the same night. Both had big trees. And you got to see all your friends.

And there was the food

Christmas Day meant food, food and more food at both our place and also my paternal grandmother's house at nearby Vernon.

A country ham on Christmas Day at my grandmother's was as good as it gets.

Most folks would choose both ham and turkey.

And there were pies and cakes galore! My Aunt Ruby's pies were superb.

Not many people had television sets in those days. Certainly not where we lived.

So you played games.

Instead of watching football on the tube -- as is so common nowadays -- if you had enough cousins, you would get your own football game going in the yard.

Later in the afternoon, after adults had talked the great issues of the day, everyone would gather to sing again.

Then it was time to munch on some more food -- perhaps, crack a few pecans. Have some more pumpkin pie. The older folks would have coffee.

You always appreciated what a special day it was because you might not see your relatives all in one place for a good while after that. Perhaps -- not until the next Christmas in the country.

Most of the relatives from those days now have passed on. The memories have not.

Whether you're in the country or city, I hope your Christmas is wonderful and memorable this year.