Alistair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge from the original "Christmas Carol"
Watching the movie “Midnight in Paris,” by Woody Allen reminds me of the phrase, “the good old days aren’t necessarily as good as we remember them to be.” It got me to thinking about growing up in the 60′s and 70′s on Long Island, New York, especially around Christmas time. For those of you that weren’t alive during that time period, I would like to give you my thoughts on Christmases during that era. And, for those of you that are older than me, I’m sure you will remember more. Some of you may even remember the 40′s and 50′s.
Many of the traditions that we know and love come from this period. The first airing of “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” was in 1964; Frosty the Snowman was in 1969; Santa Clause is Coming to Town was in 1970; and, The Little Drummer Boy was in 1968. All of these “classics” have been watched, enjoyed and cherished by many children and adults since then. In fact, most families just watch them every year. It is a memory I have of my family and I hope you also have of yours.
In addition to these wonderful holiday shows, we had the plethora of annual Christmas specials. It wasn’t a year without Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Andy Williams, Dean Martin or even the Carpenters and Mac Davis as the 70′s wore on. A Christmas was incomplete without seeing Bing sing “White Christmas” or seeing Bob Hope sing “Silver Bells,” or watching Andy Williams and his family sing “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” All of these specials were centered on family. It was Bing’s family entertaining us and the same went for Bob Hope, Andy Williams and Dean Martin. Even Frank Sinatra had an occassional Christmas special, but he wasn’t one of the yearly traditions that we looked forward to.
Here is an Andy Williams clip from the 1970′s that includes Dorothy Hamill performing on ice.
And, here is Bob Hope singing “Silver Bells” with is wife Delores from 1978
In fact, I remember when Bing Crosby and David Bowie sang their famous Christmas duet based upon “The Little Drummer Boy” in 1977. It is hard to believe that would be the last Christmas special we would have with Bing as he died in between the taping of the show and its airing.
I also have fond memories of baking Christmas cookies with my mother. I was the youngest of three children and my brother and sister were out of the house while I was still a child. Every year, right after Thanksgiving, my mother would break out the baking tools and we would start making the cookies. Grace made them all: toll house, butter, chocolate and oatmeal. Some decorated in Christmas colors and other just in their delicious natural state.
And, as a child, I couldn’t wait for the Christmas Tree to go up as I knew this meant that Santa wasn’t too far behind. In fact, my mother just loved decorating the house for Christmas. From just after Thanksgiving until January 6, our house looked like it came straight from the North Pole. There was Santa, Angels, Red Ribbons and bells everywhere, but most importantly, there was the Nativity under the tree. My mom and dad always made sure that I did not forget the true meaning of the holiday season. It wasn’t about Santa or the gifts. It was about the birth of Christ.
Well, those days are gone and I continue to think about them fondly each year. As I get older, I remember more and more about them and I remember my mom and dad who have both been gone a long time. Even though my mom actually passed in 2007, she was gone mentally at least ten years before that. And, with their passing, the tradition of going home for Christmas has taken on less meaning. In fact, as I am a middle aged adult now, I often spend the holidays with my friends on the west coast, or I just go and travel to some exotic place.
But, this year, Woody Allen made “Midnight in Paris,” and it started me thinking. Were the good old days really that good? Is today going to be somebody else’s good old days?
Remember, the 1960s were a time of turmoil in America. We were going through the horrors of the Vietnam War, the political upheaval of 1968 and eventually the disgrace and resignation of a President in the mid-1970s. The talk back then was the same that we hear now: ”The best days of America are behind us.” In fact, we heard that same language throughout the 1960′s and continuing until the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980.
So, although my memories of Christmases Past are fond, not all was good during that time. The ghosts are with me and will be with me for many more years. However, I choose to remember the good ghosts much more than the bad ghosts. I choose to remember all that is set forth in this article. And, I know that 40 years from now, America will still be here and somebody will be writing a similar article calling this the good old days.
I’d like to close with a video of Rascal Flats singing “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” which was written during 1943 and recorded by Bing Crosby as a tribute to the men serving in the armed forces during World War II. Please pray for those that are currently serving as I’m sure that they would love to be home for the holidays as well.
I hope all of you have a very merry and memorable Christmas.
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