ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Recitations, Singing, and Indulgences—a Christmas Tradition Remembered

Updated on July 26, 2017

Let there be Peace on Earth

Recitations, Singing, and Indulgences

Christmas Eve arrives, the stockings are hung with care and the children are eagerly anticipating Christmas morning—this is the Christmas tradition most people remember and pass on to their own children. That is not what I remember from my childhood. We often did not even celebrate on December 25th because of family members who needed to travel. On the selected day, somewhere between mid-December and mid-January, we would have our own day of Christmas celebrations.

Of course we had a large meal around the table with lots of delicious food. It was what came next that each person had prepared for a long time in advance (unless of course they had procrastinated till the last moment.) Each person had to prepare, practice or memorize something to present at what became known as, "the Program .” As young children we had to memorize poems, sing songs or participate in skits with the others. Once Christmas dinner was over we would gather in the living room and each one would take turns presenting to the rest of the family. I remember memorizing poems or practicing my chosen Christmas carol so I would have something to offer.

My Dad had a reel-to-reel tape recorder and would often have us come one at a time to record our piece for that year. My brother had the recordings on these reels transferred onto cassettes as a gift for each of us one Christmas and we all got a good laugh over what we had sounded like as children. I remember my middle sister memorizing a poem that was as long as a short story which brought tears to my eyes as she recited it (and years later as I listened to it again.) If I remember correctly, it was called something like, “What if Christmas Had not Come.”

When my siblings became adults and had children of their own, each family would prepare something to present. During a few of the gatherings, I helped the younger nieces and nephews create and rehearse a skit to present to Grandma and Grandpa. We would often talk about “the Program ” as something to be avoided and joke about it but, truthfully, it was a tradition that was our own and we will always have some good memories because of it.

Once the individual presentations were over, we would sing many Christmas carols. Each person, from the oldest down to the youngest, could choose their favorite for everyone to sing. Our family sang a lot in church where everyone had to learn how to sing in harmony so when we sang together at Christmas, we sounded like quite a chorus.

Then it was time for Dad to take out his Bible, turn to the Book of Luke in the New Testament and read for us the original Christmas story:

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree. . .And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea , to Bethlehem . . . He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger .”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.

When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. ” (NIV Bible)

When Dad finished reading the Christmas story and had said a prayer, we were finally able to open our presents. (They were laid in a pile in a corner of the room because we didn’t have a Christmas tree till many years later.) This was done in an orderly fashion, one gift at a time, so everyone could enjoy the moment of discovery. When we were young we usually made hand-crafted gifts for each person so it was kind of exciting to see how they liked our special treasure. As we got a little older and the family grew, we would draw names and get something special for just that one person. I anticipated the expression on the person’s face as they opened the gift I had spent such careful time in making “just right.”

After the gifts were opened, Mom would bring out the special chocolates, candies and mandarin oranges that we would get only at Christmas. What a special delight! We’d eat, visit and play with our gifts until we gradually gathered around the kitchen table to play board games. Oh, and eat cookies—lots and lots of them. We played games till the wee hours of the morning when we could no longer keep our eyes open from all the food and excitement.

So, while we never knew on which calendar date we would celebrate Christmas, the actual tradition of that day never changed until we all became adults and lived in different parts of the country (or the world.) I have fond memories of the experiences that happened from year to year and feel a sense of loss now that my parents are old and no longer able to provide the central gathering place. This family tradition is dying with them but the memories will continue to live on in my heart.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)