The Christmas Ties that Bind...

Watching The Grinch with my kids! My very own little Cindy Lou Who is loving it! I love Christmas! 

 This post appeared on my Facebook wall on November 28^th.  These words were spoken by my cousin’s wife.  They have three children under the age of ten.  The youngest is a girl, a.k.a. Cindy Lou Who. She has blond hair that is pulled back in pigtails, and a smile and sweetness to match the character.   On my face and in my heart a smile instantly appeared when I read this. I was transported back in time.  I too sat with my children enjoying the exact same show.  They would be in their pajamas, of course the kind with the sewn in feet, and I would pop the popcorn for the show.  It was an event, a happening. One of those very special evenings when the regular routine was ignored and we would be transported to a magical world.  I would savor every minute of the show and our time together.

   It seems as if as soon as the Thanksgiving turkey is carved, the television schedule is announced that contains all of the special Christmas shows.  We all know them.  They may be in Cartoon or Claymation form, but we can recite every line, and sing every song. Our hearts are warmed when Santa asks Rudolph to guide his sleigh on the snowy and foggy night, when the Grinch returns Christmas and all the trimmings to the residents of Who Ville, we love to discover how Santa came to town, we were so very happy when Santa was able to recover from his sick bed to deliver Christmas after all, and our hearts melted when Linus took the stage to explain the true meaning of Christmas.

  Not only did I enjoy watching these shows with my children, but I enjoyed watching the same ones with my sisters when I was growing up.  And in our house these shows were also an event.  We had to have all of our homework completed, be bathed and in our pajamas by the show start time.  Mom would make the popcorn, but not in the microwave.  She popped it on the stove top, the old fashioned way.

 Back in the day there were no VCR, DVD or TiVo’s to record the shows for future viewing. They were truly a once a year event. I remember one particular snowy and windy night back in the late 1960’s or early 1970’s.  My sisters and I kept up our end of the bargain.  Our homework was completed and we were squeaky clean from our baths, we turned on the television and we were horrified to see nothing but snow.  Not the white fluffy kind, but the black and white snow that filled the TV screen!  It was not just on channel 2, but on each of the eleven remaining channels!  The only thing that this could mean was that there was a problem with our TV and or, our antenna.

  Panic ensued in our house.  When was Daddy getting home from work?  We all knew that Dad was the “Mighty Man of Steel” and he could fix anything, but would he be home in time?  Would we be able to see Rudolph this year?  We have waited all year for this hallowed night. How could the winds blow down our TV antenna on such a special night?

  Well as luck would have it, Dad arrived home to rescue his daughters.  There was no time for dinner, not with such a crisis at hand.  So out into the cold and wind Dad ventured as he climbed onto the roof.  The only thing that he asked is that we told him when we could see the picture on the TV.  

  With the same determination that Rudolph had as he guided Santa’s Sleigh, Dad possessed the same as he ventured out to splice those wires so his girls could have their once a year magical journey.  To the roof Dad went.  The wind was whipping in circles at the top of the mountain, and also on the top of our roof.  Frozen fingers and all Dad spiced the wires together.  He yelled to his family in the warm house to see if it worked….no response, so he yelled again, and again, no response….finally he secured the wire connections with the electrical tape  and entered the house, only to find his girls huddled on the couch, sharing popcorn and enthralled watching Rudolph!   Mission accomplished!!  That particular night has gone down in history, our family history, that is!

   I have such fond memories of watching the “Grinch Who Stole Christmas”,  “The Year Without a Santa Claus”, Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, and A Charlie Brown Christmas” with my sisters.  To this day we still sing the songs and recite the words.  With just a single note of “Santa Clause is Coming to Town”, or “I’m Mr. Heat Miser, I’m Mr. Snow” I am transported back to two places, my childhood and my children’s childhoods. 

   So very many years later, these shows still mean so much to me.  The really amazing thing is,all of these forty and fifty year old Christmas specials mean the same if not more to my children.  So the circle is complete….and in the future we go!  For some reason I do believe that these same Christmas shows will resonate in much of the same way with my Grandchildren.

   We live in the century of cutting edge technology.  Animation is now considered an art form and you can even major in it at college.  What can be created with computer graphics astounds me.  And yet these Claymation and Cartoon Christmas specials created forty to fifty years ago are still generational favorites.  They continue to resonate with the older and younger generations.  Timeless is the word!

   It seems as the years progress, the madness increases.  We are overcome with the “must haves”, the “you cannot live with outs.”  And like Charlie Brown I shout “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is really all about?”  We need to continue to listen to Linus.  In this world of beauty, messages abound…… Linus recited to us that the true meaning of Christmas is: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace and goodwill towards all men.”.........Merry Christmas and may your heart continue to hold Christmas joy today, and all of your tomorrows. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeVDOu2_Fuc&feature=related