Family giving ....

Late 1970's, the Abitibi Paper Mill went on strike.  The men had been out for months with no hope of a return to work before Christmas.

At this point in our family life, there was only my youngest brother and I of the eight siblings left living at home.  Wanting to do something special to prepare for Christmas, my baby brother and I created a Christmas Advent Wreath for Mom.  Using square milk cartons, paraffin wax, appropriate coloured crayons and plain old braided twine for wicks, we crafted our five candles.  We mounted them on leftover Styrofoam covered in foil and added a few evergreen branches.  There it sat for a full month on the buffet.   

Every Sunday evening after dinner, Mom, Dad, my brother and I prayed together with the lighting of the candles.  We spent time as a family preparing for the coming of the Christ child.  It was a peaceful time.

However, as Christmas approached, we knew that times being financially difficult, we could not expect many presents under the tree.  As the family had already started to grow, many of our siblings would not make it home for Christmas, spending time with their in-laws.  My parents had decided to wait for the whole family to be present for the gift giving.  Poor baby brother ... how he kept going on that it would not be Christmas this year!

For the few who made it home for Christmas, we did celebrate what I have come to think of as the purest Christmas of my life.  We lit our last candle, we prayed and sang God's praise at Christmas Eve service and again at Christmas morning service and had a wonderful meal as a family.

Between Christmas and New Years, I got busy baking to offer gifts to my siblings.  I baked gingerbreadman cookies and decorated each one trying to capture their appearance, then individually wrapped and placed them under the tree, waiting for the rest of the family to make their way home.

They began arriving a couple of days before New Year's Eve each carrying boxes of food and gifts!  A large ham, vegetables, canned goods and baking!  It was exciting.

 

On New Year's Eve, we sat around our Christmas tree sharing laughter and gifts.  All was right with the world!

We celebrated the birth of the Christ child with song and prayer and then we celebrated a new year as a family with laughter and gifts!