Islanders enjoy having a great time and making unforgettable memories throughout the year. However, today let me reminisce about the Murray Christmas traditions. One that stands out to me is the walk in our woods through the deep snow and bringing home the Christmas tree in a box sleigh. We would decorate it with multi-colored lights, load it with our sparkling ornaments and finally drape silver tinsel on every branch. Christmas cards in many sizes were hung in our large kitchen where we read them many times during the holidays and finally were replaced with our favourite Christmas calendars on January 1st.
On the eve of the 24th we would read ‘Twas the night before Christmas. Our dad’s work socks were hung by the tree in hopes that Santa would fill them with Clementine sweet oranges, a bunch of plump grapes, homemade fudge and rock hard candy as he would drop by every house ringing his sleigh bells. Waking up early and opening our one or two gifts from Santa always brought a lot of excitement. The gifts we loved the most provided us with hours of contentment. Some of these gifts included old fashioned board games, Spirograph, Etch A Sketch, toboggan and white skates. Gifts from our parents included a new pair of PJs and warm clothes to get us through the island’s wintry weather.
The Christmas turkey dinner with the family was always a delight especially our grandmother’s homemade plum pudding drizzled with butterscotch sauce. Christmas carols could often be heard playing in the background. To this day, I still treasure the old fashioned ways of celebrating Christmas with families and friends as well as experiencing the excitement of wonder with our nieces Amelia and Norah.
Uncommon Beauty in Writing 