Memories of Christmas Past – ‘Carols’ from Wee Three: Innocence and Wonder

Memories of Christmas’ past flood my mind the closer it gets to December 25^th. The house filled with music, the smell of freshly baked bread and cookies. Sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies, chocolate chip cookies, cookies with sparkles, and those without filling the air with an aroma that begged us all to steal a bit of batter if nothing else was available.

The freshly cut tree stood in the corner awaiting its lights and decorations. Dad would always do the lights; he’d never have allowed anyone else that job and mom would sit and watch us hang the ornaments upon it. She’d point out each bare spot in need of an ornament, and one of us would rush to fill that lonely place.

I don’t remember much about dinners when I was very young; my thoughts were all on what was in the packages and if Santa would bring us presents that year. Oh, I knew that he had never forgotten us, but just because we were poor didn’t mean that someone else wasn’t more in need of his gifts.

Later on, after the tree was all brightly lit, the ornaments and tinsel hung, all nine of us sat around the tree and sang. We sang the songs from days of yore, and those that were newly released. We Three Kings, Silent Night, Jingle Bells, Winter Wonderland, Sleigh Bells Ring, and of course Away in the Manger as well as many others were sung. A few of us could sing on key, most of us did the best we could, and the littlest just hummed along.

From these memories came the children’s poem ‘Carols’ from Wee Three: Innocence and Wonder.