Hope everyone had a wonderful
Thanksgiving. Are you ready for Christmas? Or if you’re not ready, hope you're at least
enjoying a fun Friday, looking forward to the celebration of our Savior’s
birth.
For children, the joy of Christmas
comes from the wonder and anticipation of the season. Older people more often find
joy in memories that settle deep into the soul, built layer upon layer. Christmas
heirlooms are the catalyst guaranteed to recall those memories of Christmases
past, and all the joy they hold.
Every family has its own unique
heirlooms. One of the most enduring is the crèche.
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According to tradition,
Saint Francis of Assisi created the first nativity scene in 1223 as a live
representation of the Holy Birth. The Nativity scene inspired communities
throughout Catholic countries to stage similar pantomimes.
As the centuries progressed,
figurines of clay, terra cotta, and porcelain were produced to display in
public and in homes. Besides Mary and Joseph and the infant Jesus, shepherds,
sheep, angels, and the Magi were added to the setting. Displaying the crèche became
almost as popular as the Christmas tree. Customs evolved, such as assigning the
honor of placing the baby Jesus to the family’s youngest child.
The family crèche was a prized
heirloom passed down from generation to generation, but it's not the only Christmas keepsake.
Whether store-bought or
hand-made, ornaments are popular heirlooms. As the custom of decorating a
Christmas tree grew, the need for ornaments naturally increased.
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Victorians
made most of their ornaments, and the instructions for constructing them were
included the magazines of the day. Balls, bird nests, cones, and framed
pictures were made of wood, fabric, paper, and whatever nature provided.
The late 1800s saw the rise of
tin pressed ornaments, but the most prized ornaments were of blown glass,
usually imported from Germany. These were so expensive a household would
probably possess only one or two. Then sometime between the two world wars, American
companies began manufacturing glass ornaments. After WWII, F. W. Woolworth made
these ornaments available in his five and dime stores.
As the cheaper ornaments became
available, hand-crafted heirlooms fell out of popularity. A shame in my
opinion, because it’s the school projects brought in by grade-schoolers or things
intricately stitched, embroidered, crocheted, and glued by mothers that hold
the best memories.
When I was growing up we had a
box of heirloom ornaments. A house fire destroyed them years ago, and only one
of my crafts has endured to become a true heirloom. During a particularly lean
year, I didn’t have enough in the Christmas budget to buy a nice Christmas tree
skirt, so I looked through my left-over yarn. Not much was available in the
colors I needed, but I started crocheting and this is it.
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Half a lifetime later it still
wraps around the trunk of our Christmas tree. Cats and puppies have played
under it. Babies have chewed on it. Children have lain on it, playing games.
Toys have snagged it. Large and small piles of packages have rested on top
of it. After a wash, it’s good as new. I can’t imagine a Christmas without it.
That’s what an heirloom is—enduring
through the years, bringing back the memories.
Does your family have
a Christmas heirloom that means a lot to you?
