Dear Readers,
After experiencing 65 Christmases, quite a few pleasing memories linger in the back of my mind. Permit me to dust off a few of these recollections and share them with you.
“Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel” is a church hymn sung during Advent (four weeks of preparation before Christmas). Singing this song reminds me of a holiday cantata I sang in as a freshman at Ursuline Academy in Louisville, Ky. Every Christmas this pageant featuring the entire student body was produced and presented as a fund raiser for the school.
The first song of the show in 1959 was “Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel”. The entire freshman class was chosen to sing all six verses of this hymn by heart. We practiced daily for weeks but somehow none of us put much effort into memorizing all the words. We stumbled and mumbled quite a bit after the first verse.
About a week before the performance, we were still not sure of the words. Sister Vincentia, the cantata director, was so exasperated by our lack of interest that during this song, she suddenly banged on the piano and shouted “dammit”! You could hear a pin drop on the stage. That comment sure caught our attention. Did Sister really utter “dammit”? She was so irritated with us that she demanded we memorize all six verses that night for homework. You better believe that at rehearsal the following day, the hymn was sung perfectly. Sister Vincentia never had to raise her voice again and I realized for the first time, that nuns were human too!
Another Christmas memory involves ice skates and a big surprise. On one particular Christmas my sister and I no longer believed in Santa but Dad wanted to surprise us with a special Christmas present. He chose our gift from Speier’ Hardware on Barret Avenue, where every December a large area of the store was dedicated to a Christmas toy display. Shelves were overflowing with all types of dolls, trucks and games. Shiny new bikes were lined up in a long row. There was even pairs of ice skates on display. All the neighborhood kids loved to wander up and down the aisles and dream of what toy they would be receiving for Christmas.
A few days before Christmas, Dad came home from Speier’s carrying a big box under his arm. It was gift-wrapped and the tag had both our names written on it. He carefully placed it underneath the decorated Christmas tree. We were intrigued. We would pick it up, shake it and speculate on the contents. After much jiggling and shaking, we decided that the box contained a pair of ice skates. We pictured ourselves skating on ice in beautiful costumes just like the girls in the Ice Capades. Can you imagine the dismay in our eyes, when we opened the box and pulled out a regulation-size basketball? I’m sure my Dad thought it was the perfect present for two young girls. We tried to hide our disappointment because we didn’t want to hurt Dad’s feelings. Bouncing a basketball was enjoyable but it would never match the thrill of skating across the ice!
Keep smilin’!
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