Ishmael
Literotica Guru
- Joined
- Nov 24, 2001
- Posts
- 84,005
I received a PM from a litster (thank you so much) that got me thinking of Christmas's past.
I remember as a child how Christmas was a magical time. The air fairly sparkled. There was the enthusiasm over the toys expected of course, but there was the family, the food, the good will in the air. It was a time for visiting. I remember that while living in upstate New York that my father would hitch up the sleigh with the harness with teh bells and we'd go visit the neighbors. What an exhilarating rides those were. It was like flying what with the brisk air in your face and the rhythm of the horses hooves as we clopped along. We'd use Flash, a Morgan, for the single horse sleigh and it seemed that even he knew it was a special occasion.
Then moving to El Paso I remember the luminarias, back before they became just another electrified decoration. It was like a block party. the entire neighborhood, all the neighborhoods, were out visiting one another while relighting or replacing the candles in the paper sacks with sand in the bottom. Pinatas, tamales dulce, empanada's, family, and, of course, the toys.
Around that time Santa Claus died and some of the magic of Christmas died with him. The holiday became more commercial from an individual point of view. It became all about the toys, but about that time there were more clothes than toys further tarnishing the sparkle in the air.
Then cane that period when it was all about gathering with family and the food. You began to wonder, "What happened to the Maple Sugar and why wasn't there Chestnuts to roast?" But most of the rest of it was there, the Turkey, Rib Roast, or Goose depending on your family traditions.
Starting sometime in the late 60's the families 'blew up.' Folks traveled to where the jobs were and the distances between parent and child increased dramatically. Oh, there were always plans to "get together" but time, money, and work seemed to thwart everyone's plans in one way or another.
But by then a lot of us had children of our own and that brought back some of the magic, some of the sparkle in the air. We had the opportunity to vicariously relive our own childhood through the eyes of our children. But they too soon grew up and the cycle renewed.
For those of us lucky enough to have grand-children we get to relive some of that again, albeit twice removed now. But the fact remains that Christmas, the magical part of Christmas, is for children. Without those bright eyes and excited smiles it's just another holiday, a solemn one for may, but another holiday nonetheless. A day off with pay. And in some respects there is a profound sadness in that.
While the meaning remains, the sparkle becomes tarnished.
Ishmael
I remember as a child how Christmas was a magical time. The air fairly sparkled. There was the enthusiasm over the toys expected of course, but there was the family, the food, the good will in the air. It was a time for visiting. I remember that while living in upstate New York that my father would hitch up the sleigh with the harness with teh bells and we'd go visit the neighbors. What an exhilarating rides those were. It was like flying what with the brisk air in your face and the rhythm of the horses hooves as we clopped along. We'd use Flash, a Morgan, for the single horse sleigh and it seemed that even he knew it was a special occasion.
Then moving to El Paso I remember the luminarias, back before they became just another electrified decoration. It was like a block party. the entire neighborhood, all the neighborhoods, were out visiting one another while relighting or replacing the candles in the paper sacks with sand in the bottom. Pinatas, tamales dulce, empanada's, family, and, of course, the toys.
Around that time Santa Claus died and some of the magic of Christmas died with him. The holiday became more commercial from an individual point of view. It became all about the toys, but about that time there were more clothes than toys further tarnishing the sparkle in the air.
Then cane that period when it was all about gathering with family and the food. You began to wonder, "What happened to the Maple Sugar and why wasn't there Chestnuts to roast?" But most of the rest of it was there, the Turkey, Rib Roast, or Goose depending on your family traditions.
Starting sometime in the late 60's the families 'blew up.' Folks traveled to where the jobs were and the distances between parent and child increased dramatically. Oh, there were always plans to "get together" but time, money, and work seemed to thwart everyone's plans in one way or another.
But by then a lot of us had children of our own and that brought back some of the magic, some of the sparkle in the air. We had the opportunity to vicariously relive our own childhood through the eyes of our children. But they too soon grew up and the cycle renewed.
For those of us lucky enough to have grand-children we get to relive some of that again, albeit twice removed now. But the fact remains that Christmas, the magical part of Christmas, is for children. Without those bright eyes and excited smiles it's just another holiday, a solemn one for may, but another holiday nonetheless. A day off with pay. And in some respects there is a profound sadness in that.
While the meaning remains, the sparkle becomes tarnished.
Ishmael
