# 15 Let's Play Christmas
Did you ever play Christmas when you were a child? My grandma and her brothers and sisters did once with near disasterous results...
One Sunday recently in his sermon our Pastor mentioned the tradition of turning a Christmas tree into a Lenten cross. This is something HeHimself (Hubby) also would do in the past when we had real trees. It brought to mind another story my grandmother shared many times as I was growing up.
This tale is about the same family you met in Blog # 7 , "Whatever Happened to Blackie's Blanket?" and took place in the early 1900s. Grandma had six brothers and two sisters, so you can imagine the high jinx the nine of them sometimes got up to.
On this particular day, Great Grandma and Grandpa had shopping to do, as well as business at the Courthouse in the County Seat. In those horse and buggy times that entailed an all day trip. Their four teenage sons were away, working out as hired help for neighboring farmers. Their five younger children stayed at home in the care of two older uncles, one a bachelor and the other a widower, who also lived and worked on the place.
Great Grandma had a hearty dinner ready and waiting for the stay-at-homes to eat at noontime. She also left a list of chores she expected to be completed by the time of her return. Great Grandma was a loving mom, but also was a strict task-mistress, so the children knew the rule, "Zuerst arbeiten wir und dann spielen wir." which is "First we work, and then we play."
The youngsters stood on the porch waving as their parents headed out the drive and down to road. Even before the team and buggy disappeared around the corner at the next mile intersection, they dutifully set to work on the jobs list.
First with the help of The Uncles, they washed the breakfast dishes and set the big oak table in the dining room for dinner. As The Uncles headed outside to their own work, the children tackled their least favorite task, that of picking sprouts off the spuds stored in the potato bin. They gathered up rag area rugs, took them outside for a good shake, and left them for a time to air on the porch railings. Then they dusted furniture, window sills, baseboards, and floors. They emptied wastebaskets, brought in kindling and wood The Uncles had chopped for the kitchen range and parlor stove, and swept the kitchen floor. They brought in the rag rugs and put each back into its place around the house.
All this and more kept the children busy and out of trouble until at last the clock on its shelf in the kitchen struck 12 o'clock. The hungry siblings and their uncles washed up, gathered around the big oval table, folded their hands, bowed their heads, and said Grace. Even Little Brother said his own short prayer, "Abba, Vater, Amen."
The family happily chatted as they ate, talking about how they would spend the afternoon. After another round of dish washing and table setting for supper, the children thought to get out their games and toys. "Nein," said The Uncles, "Zuerst ruhen wir uns aus." which meant "No, first we rest."
The youngsters sighed and trudged up the stairs to their bedrooms, knowing better than to protest. In their parents' absence, The Uncles' word was law. The Uncles retired to their rocking chairs, rested back their heads, and closed their eyes. Before long, the big farmhouse fell still, save for the ticking of the clock and the soft snores of The Uncles.
The next time the clock chimed, The Uncles awoke from their naps with a start. Before they went outside to begin their afternoon chores, they listened at the bottom of the stairwell. They were happy to hear no commotion going on from the direction of their nieces' and nephews' rooms. Since all seemed quiet above, they assumed the young ones were having a good sleep after their busy, work filled morning. Little did they know what pandemonium would ensue later in the afternoon.
Although the children did indeed rest on their beds for a short while, they did not fall asleep, save Little Brother who was used to taking a nap after dinner. As soon as they heard The Uncles snoring the siblings quietly got out their books and toys. Squelching their giggles and tiptoeing in stocking feet they happily entertained themselves while their caretakers snoozed, all the while keeping an ear out for any noise from below.
At last The Uncles awoke from their noontime rest, started moving around, and talking about their afternoon work. Hearing this the children quickly hopped into their beds, closed their eyes, and played possum, lest their elders should hear them playing and climb the stairs to investigate.
Once the kidlets heard the back door shut and the sound of The Uncles' work boots crossing the porch and going down the back steps, they hurried to an upstairs window overlooking the backyard and the farmyard beyond. They sighed sighs of relief when they saw their babysitters disappear into the big barn furthest from the house, knowing there were tasks aplenty within which would keep them occupied for the next several hours.
Now the real games could begin. What fun they had! They roused Little Brother from his nap, took the mattress from his small bed, and hauled it to the top of the stairwell. Taking turns they played Sled. This entailed sitting on the little mattress, launching themselves down the stairs for a thrilling descent, and coasting a short ways across the polished floor of the dining room. Again and again they dragged their pretend sleigh up the steps, squealing with delight all the way down.
When they had their fill of Sled, they moved on to Hide and Seek. The big old farmhouse with its nooks and crannies was the perfect venue for this game, and they enjoyed it immensely. These two activities worked up an appetite in the youngsters, so they went to the kitchen, finding apples and oatmeal raisin cookies their mother had left for them as a snack.
The cookies made them think of the wonderful treats they so enjoyed at Christmas. That holiday seemed so far away now, such a special time of year for children and adults alike. Best of all the festivities, to their minds, was the lighting of the Christmas trees on Christmas Eve, first at church, and later at home in their very own parlor.
In those pre-electric times, the lights on the Christmas tree came from many little candles, each with its own small metal holder, clipped onto the branches of the fresh cut evergreen. Even as each tiny taper was set alight, buckets of water stood nearby at the ready, lest one of the little flames should set the whole tree afire and the building with it.
Their snack now finished, the brothers and sisters set to thinking what might be their next amusement. With the vision of the glowing Christmas Tree so recently in their minds, they looked at each other, and said almost at once, "Let's play Christmas!"
Grandma's brother, two years her senior, took the role of Pastor, setting Great Grandma's large potted fern onto the floor, and using the oak plant stand as a pulpit. He read the Christmas story from the family's well worn Bible. They sang all the carols they knew starting with "Oh, Come Little Children" and ending with "Silent Night". In between the hymns they each took their turns saying the pieces they had memorized for last year's Children's Service. Grandma raided the pantry, returning with some peanuts to pass out in place of the little bag of goodies each child traditionally received at the end of the Christmas Eve service.
"The only thing missing is the Christmas Tree," pointed out one of Grandma's sisters, two years her junior. The children cast their eyes about, looking to see what might be a stand-in for the Tree. As they were pondering this, the youngest sister ran to the dining room and opened the bottom drawer of the build-in cupboard. Under Great Grandma's best linen tablecloth and napkins she found the large, flat box holding the Christmas Tree candle holders and their little candles.
Their first idea was to use the potted fern as their tree, it being green and all. However, they soon found the fern fronds too weak to support the weight of the metal holders.
They walked from room to room, each carrying one of the clip-ons, trying to see what might best play the role of Tree. Little Brother went to his wooden high chair with its two rows of turned spindles between its legs. Happily, he discovered the clip fit exactly. "Come see, come see," he called.
And so it was decided to use the high chair for the Christmas Tree in their play. They each took a handful of holders clipping them wherever they could all around the chair from top to bottom, even setting some on the lift-up tray and on the foot rest below the seat. Once all the holders and candles were in place, Big Brother fetched the box of wood matches from the kitchen and began lighting the little candles. When the Chair Tree was all lighted the children sat around it, admiring their handiwork, singing "O Tannenbaum" at the top of their voices.
Mesmerized as they were by the candlelight and deafened by their own loud singing, now of "Jingle Bells", the children were oblivious to what was happening outside. At that very minute The Uncles came out of the barn, finished with their day's work, and Great Grandma and Grandpa drove into the yard, home from their trip to town. Both The Parents and The Uncles were aghast to see flames through the tall parlor windows. All they could think was that the house was on fire and the dear little ones were in danger.
Great Grandma and Grandpa dashed into the house, their only thought being if they would be able to reach their children in time. The Uncles grabbed up whatever containers they could, pumped them full at the kitchen sink, ran to the parlor, flinging the water on the lighted high chair. The candles fizzled and went out, as Great Grandma and Grandpa stood hugging their five young ones between them.
Needless to say, both parents and uncles were thankful to the Lord that the children and the house survived what could have been a tragedy. Grandma and her brother and sisters got a long lecture on how foolish and dangerous their game was and how wrong it was to have deceived The Uncles into thinking they were asleep. Because he was too young to realize the folly of his siblings' actions, Little Brother got milk toast for supper and was rocked to sleep in Grandma's arms.
The older children did not fare so well however. After they mopped up the parlor floor, they had to remove the candle holders from the high chair, wiping each one carefully with a cloth and laying them all out on an old newspaper to dry so they would not rust. Next they had to dry every part of the high chair, wiping off the soot of the candle flames, the best they could. The next day they were to apply furniture polish to the chair, in hopes of improving its now spoiled finish.
Worst of all, they were sent to bed without supper, given only soda crackers and water. They also had to give part of their birthday money to buy all new candles for next year's Christmas Tree. Lesson learned, they never played Christmas again. Mischievous as they were though, that was not last of their antics, but those are stories for other days.
You will be happy to learn the high chair came through its trial by fire in good shape. It has has been used by several more generations of babies and lives on as a prized heirloom of our family. It does get a little nervous though when it hears talk of decorating the Christmas Tree, but that is understandable, don't you think?
Thanks so much for reading my blog. Blessings on your day, Gloria
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