Post by Brian on Oct 15, 2013 8:53:07 GMT -5
12/23/07 at 09:18 PM
Maria
I've always heard there was no Christmas tree in the Lawson house that Christmas nor any other decorations and I'll always wonder if there were in the years preceding that Christmas. If so, then that's yet another sign that something was seriously wrong in that household.
Maria
12/23/07 at 11:30 PM
Angel71242
That's really sad. At least they got a gift or two on Christmas day hopefully. Charlie bought Fannie that stove for Christmas so maybe the children got a little something too.
Angel71242
12/29/07 at 04:27 PM
Michael818
A lot of folks just didn't celebrate Christmas back then. It wasn't the big deal it is today. In fact many Protestant Churches, including the Baptists and Methodists openly OPPOSED the Christmas Celebration up til the late 19th Century. It was considered a CATHOLIC Holiday, and wasn't thought of as scriptural, but as another of those instances where the early church inserted Christian celebrations in where pagan festivals were, to make it more palatable to everyone. The Protestants came around eventually to the meaning of the holiday instead of the facts in the latter 1800's. There was, in fact, an article about this in the W-S Journal a few weeks ago.
Michael R.
Michael818
12/30/07 at 09:26 AM
Maria
I think they celebrated Christmas back then by decorating their homes because I remember ruby Savage saying in her interview that she and Dorothy Watts and Marie Lawson went to the woods 2 days before Christmas to pick berries and greenery for decorating the house for Christmas. Another woman told me that she remembered while she was a student at the Old Germanton School in 1929 making paper decorations to go on her family's Christmas tree at home. One newspaper article says that a Christmas card with Santa Claus on it was lying in a pool of blood on the floor. And I know Christmas presents were exchanged because I remember the story about Minnie Hauser giving each of Marion Lawson's children a gift one year.
Maria
01/04/08 at 05:32 PM
Angel71242
I have to believe that had some decorations, be it "greenery" that Marie picked from the woods and a Christmas Card or two. It just feels like Marie at least would do that for the smaller children. And it's too sad to think otherwise.
Angel71242
01/04/08 at 06:10 PM
Michael818
Dad said when they were little, they strung a tree with popcorn, and there were a few ornaments, but not many. Some of his and mom's relations didn't decorate for Christmas, though, not like you'd think. When they did, I think it was more home-made stuff and greenery than store bought baubles.
Michael R.
Michael818
01/07/08 at 10:32 AM
Angel71242
Homemade stuff and greenery is definitely better than nothing!!
Angel71242
01/09/08 at 11:45 PM
doodlebug
All of my grandparents have told me stories of decorating trees (usually a pine or spruce cut from their land); as Michael said, they used popcorn, bunches of holly berries, and on the Moravian side of my family, they would actually fold Moravian stars to put on the tree. I have several hand tatted lace ornaments that my great grandmother made as a girl at the turn of the century, she often told me that she was taught to tat lace by making small ornaments for the tree or as gifts. My mother still has the old candle holders that would be used to place candles on the tree to light it. We actually still place them on the tree with small candles from Old Salem and light them for a few minutes every year on Christmas Eve. (No, I'm not allowed to play with fire around the tree after that one itty bitty incident...jeez, set a trash can on fire ONE time and they never let you live it down...) I'm not sure if it was a custom then or not, but both sides of my family have said that in that time; they would not decorate for Christmas or put the tree up early like we do now. One side of my family would put the tree and decorations up on Christmas eve, another side would put it up on December 12th to begin the 12 days of Christmas. All mentioned however, that they would leave the decorations up until the new year. I believe there may have been some sort of superstition about taken them down before New Year's. Even now, we all leave them up till then...probably more out of habit (or in my case, laziness...) than any long forgotten superstition.
doodlebug
Maria
I've always heard there was no Christmas tree in the Lawson house that Christmas nor any other decorations and I'll always wonder if there were in the years preceding that Christmas. If so, then that's yet another sign that something was seriously wrong in that household.
Maria
12/23/07 at 11:30 PM
Angel71242
That's really sad. At least they got a gift or two on Christmas day hopefully. Charlie bought Fannie that stove for Christmas so maybe the children got a little something too.
Angel71242
12/29/07 at 04:27 PM
Michael818
A lot of folks just didn't celebrate Christmas back then. It wasn't the big deal it is today. In fact many Protestant Churches, including the Baptists and Methodists openly OPPOSED the Christmas Celebration up til the late 19th Century. It was considered a CATHOLIC Holiday, and wasn't thought of as scriptural, but as another of those instances where the early church inserted Christian celebrations in where pagan festivals were, to make it more palatable to everyone. The Protestants came around eventually to the meaning of the holiday instead of the facts in the latter 1800's. There was, in fact, an article about this in the W-S Journal a few weeks ago.
Michael R.
Michael818
12/30/07 at 09:26 AM
Maria
I think they celebrated Christmas back then by decorating their homes because I remember ruby Savage saying in her interview that she and Dorothy Watts and Marie Lawson went to the woods 2 days before Christmas to pick berries and greenery for decorating the house for Christmas. Another woman told me that she remembered while she was a student at the Old Germanton School in 1929 making paper decorations to go on her family's Christmas tree at home. One newspaper article says that a Christmas card with Santa Claus on it was lying in a pool of blood on the floor. And I know Christmas presents were exchanged because I remember the story about Minnie Hauser giving each of Marion Lawson's children a gift one year.
Maria
01/04/08 at 05:32 PM
Angel71242
I have to believe that had some decorations, be it "greenery" that Marie picked from the woods and a Christmas Card or two. It just feels like Marie at least would do that for the smaller children. And it's too sad to think otherwise.
Angel71242
01/04/08 at 06:10 PM
Michael818
Dad said when they were little, they strung a tree with popcorn, and there were a few ornaments, but not many. Some of his and mom's relations didn't decorate for Christmas, though, not like you'd think. When they did, I think it was more home-made stuff and greenery than store bought baubles.
Michael R.
Michael818
01/07/08 at 10:32 AM
Angel71242
Homemade stuff and greenery is definitely better than nothing!!
Angel71242
01/09/08 at 11:45 PM
doodlebug
All of my grandparents have told me stories of decorating trees (usually a pine or spruce cut from their land); as Michael said, they used popcorn, bunches of holly berries, and on the Moravian side of my family, they would actually fold Moravian stars to put on the tree. I have several hand tatted lace ornaments that my great grandmother made as a girl at the turn of the century, she often told me that she was taught to tat lace by making small ornaments for the tree or as gifts. My mother still has the old candle holders that would be used to place candles on the tree to light it. We actually still place them on the tree with small candles from Old Salem and light them for a few minutes every year on Christmas Eve. (No, I'm not allowed to play with fire around the tree after that one itty bitty incident...jeez, set a trash can on fire ONE time and they never let you live it down...) I'm not sure if it was a custom then or not, but both sides of my family have said that in that time; they would not decorate for Christmas or put the tree up early like we do now. One side of my family would put the tree and decorations up on Christmas eve, another side would put it up on December 12th to begin the 12 days of Christmas. All mentioned however, that they would leave the decorations up until the new year. I believe there may have been some sort of superstition about taken them down before New Year's. Even now, we all leave them up till then...probably more out of habit (or in my case, laziness...) than any long forgotten superstition.
doodlebug