December 17, 2010

Christmas memories

Longtime friends looked forward to celebrating Christmas together

By Carolyn Bates-Greenman (Special to The Criterion)

Our parents, who eventually became great-grandparents, were best friends with our godparents.

Now, only one is still living. Our mother is 87, and my sister and I enjoy visiting her.

Every Sunday during our childhood, we were in church together. Every other Friday, our dads enjoyed developing photographs together, which was their shared hobby, while our mothers spent time baking delicious desserts.

Christmas was always a special time for us, particularly when as grade school children we started attending Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. We did not exchange gifts because our treasures were our dear friends.

About eight o’clock on Christmas Eve, our families would get together. Even as youngsters, we were allowed a cup of eggnog or a glass of wine with fruitcake or recently baked cookies. We felt so very grown up.

Around 10 o’clock, we would go to church for the choral prelude of Midnight Mass.

Thus, our many Christmases together were special.

Now, as grandparents ourselves, we fondly recall our early Christmas Eves as special times with dear friends when we celebrated Jesus’ birth.

(Carolyn Bates-Greenman is a member of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in New Albany.) †

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