What's you earliest holiday memory?

[tcufrog]

Mine is from Christmas but I'd love to read stories from any holiday.

My earliest holiday memory is from the evening Christmas Eve service at the church I attended growing up. I was 7 and this was the first year my parents allowed me to hold a lit candle. At the end of the service, the lights would dim while the parishioners sang "Silent Night." The elders and deacons would light people's candles throughout the sanctuary and people would pass the flame on. Eventually. people would process down the aisle and leave the sanctuary while holding their candles. I loved that part of the service and thought it was very magical.

When it was our time to leave, I followed my mother and my father brought up the rear. Because I was enjoying the beauty around me, I didn't notice when the procession stopped suddenly. I continued walking and bumped my candle straight into my mom's floor-length fur coat! I looked on in shock and horror while the back of my mom's fur coat went up in flames. Luckily, my dad was there. He immediately grabbed the coat off of her shoulders and beat it on the ground. Surprisingly enough, the only damage was some singed fur.

To this day, I am nervous around open flames.

 

[nw6675]

Christmas Eve when I was three and a bird flew into the house from the chimney. We had a house full of relatives at the time.

 

[Snap Crackle Pop]

Christmas morning I was so so sick, I was I think 5? I was throwing up everywhere, I couldn't open presents sitting up because I would feel much worse. I was so miserable.

 

[nursejackie]

On Christmas morning (back in the 70s) my sister and I stood at the top of the stairs excitedly waiting to go down and open our presents, but my dad used to say 'let me go down first and make sure Santa's been' and then he'd shout 'he's been!' and we'd run down as fast as we could. I can still feel the joy it brought, but it also brings some sadness now as my dad passed away in 2007.

 

[Kitty 34]

Getting a little white Teddy Bear when my family took me to extended family in where they referred to Brown County, Indiana, I learned later the family lived in the hills near Nashville, IND in a house they called Witch house. Anyway, I was five years old and I remember hanging out in the loft of that large house while the adults hung out down below. Very special memories for me. I still have the little white bear in my cedar chest......61 yrs later.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

Sometime between kindergarten and 2nd grade, my aunt, uncle and cousins came to stay with us for Christmas. We had gone to Midnight Mass and had been tucked into bed when my mom woke us up. She, my dad, my aunt and my uncle were standing in the doorway with Santa! Santa rang his bell, talked to us and then told us to go back to sleep so he could put our presents under the tree. We were AMAZED!!!! And to this day, I have no idea who that Santa was. My mom would never tell.

 

[Heather07438]

The earliest vivid memory of the holidays... My parents took us down to Virginia at Christmastime to visit Dad's Aunt & Uncle who had relocated from Ireland, related to Dad's father who'd passed that year. I was either 2 or 3, my parents split before I turned 4.

I remember my sister (2yrs older) and I sitting at their organ and playing. Can still see the organ, it was awesome! It ended with tears tho, lol. We didn't want to share it.

 

[fla4fun]

Standing in my crib so I could look out the window at the neighbor’s tree. They had one of those color wheels and a white tree and I was mesmerized by the changing colors.

 

[MICKIMINI]

The smell of the fir tree and the real, old fashion tinsel and glass ornaments. It was magical!

 

[TLSnell1981]

Christmas morning...baby doll with a white dress and rocking chair with a big red bow. I was three.

 

[MICKIMINI]

Christmas Eve when I was three and a bird flew into the house from the chimney. We had a house full of relatives at the time.

My grandmother (on the farm) would have been convinced there would be a death - hate to be morbid but that's what the old folks in NH believed in the day! It sounds like no bird or human was injured thankfully!

 

[nw6675]

My grandmother (on the farm) would have been convinced there would be a death - hate to be morbid but that's what the old folks in NH believed in the day! It sounds like no bird or human was injured thankfully!

Wellllllll.....

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I remember coming down the stairs and seeing my new baby sister sticking out of my stocking. I remember that much, but not what happened after.

 

[1GoldenSun]

My mother took me to the toy department of a department store right before my third birthday, which is 11 days before Christmas (tomorrow, in fact!). She said we were Christmas shopping for my aunt, and asked me which toy I liked best. I picked out a beautiful Fisher-Price dollhouse. Mom asked me if I thought my aunt would like it and I of course thought anyone would love such a magnificent piece of toy craftsmanship (despite the fact that my aunt was in her 20s).

On the morning of my birthday a few days later, I unwrapped my gift to find the dollhouse. I was thrilled, but also bothered that my parents had decided to give the dollhouse to me and that now my aunt would be disappointed. When I expressed my concern to my mom, she told me not to worry and that we'd get my aunt some gloves or something. That made me feel even worse, because who wants some stupid gloves when there are dollhouses in the world!

 

[Micca]

Well early on my letter to Santa was published in a small town newspaper. I don't remember that, but I'm aware of it now. First Christmas I remember was getting an HO gauge electric train when I was 7.

 

[luvnwdwgal]

My grandmother’s white Christmas tree with the color wheel that would change the color of it to red, green, blue, and yellow. That was in the 60’s.

 

[Diznotyzed]

We went to the "Fairytale Parade" downtown the day after Thanksgiving. My dad put my sister and I on top of a phone booth so we could see, and we got our picture in the paper.

 

[happily single]

I was about 5-6 years old and my bedroom was right off the dinning room. I remember hearing a voice. and I peekEd out the bedroom door to see Santa leaving gifts under the tree.

 

[fly girl]

I had to be around 5 years old. On Christmas Eve we would always go visit both sides of the family. When we got back home late that night, had to be around 10pm, the snow fall was still new, fresh, smooth and glistening. However, in the front of my house on the lawn there were tracks (from a dog probably) and I was convinced it was reindeer tracks. Santa and his reindeer came when we weren't home! That meant no presents!! thats just what I thought. I was devastated. My parents did everything they could to calm me down and to let me know if that was Santa, he would come back. I didn't believe them. The next morning, I learned they were right. Santa did come!

 

[NannyBeBe]

The company my daddy worked for was on strike. He was getting $30 per week strike pay. Mom and he told me that they would not be able to get me any Christmas presents and I was OK with that. I had wanted a bike so badly but I would have to wait. On Christmas morning, there was the most beautiful bike under the tree. My daddy had taken all of his strike pay and got me a bike. Looking back later, I understood why Mom and Dad were eating beans while I was eating a hamburger. Their sacrifice still brings tears to my eyes.