A Bonavista Christmas

Back in the 1940's and early 1950's, Christmas in Bonavista was quite different from Christmas as we know it today. It seems that the Christmas season starts earlier and earlier every year, but back then the first indication that Christmas was approaching was when we began practicing for the Christmas concert that would be held in the Orange Hall. The concert would usually be held on the last evening before school closed. Practicing for the concert was an event we really looked forward to because it meant time off from regular classes and for some lucky ones extra time decorating the Hall and making "home" made ice cream down in the basement of the old school on Church Street. If we were lucky, we might even get to lick the spoons after. Ice cream never tasted better! We might even be allowed to make a trip over to the fish plant for some ice to preserve the ice cream until it was ready to be sold at the concert. Needless to say, no speed records were broken walking to and from the plant during class time!

Our parents certainly weren't pressured by high tech advertising like parents are today. They could take their time and look through Eaton's catalogue for what they wanted and use our "Santa Claus letter" to get our gifts, provided we asked for affordable ones. Even a trip to the local stores - Branton's , C. Tilley Ltd. or J.T.Swyers Ltd. was relaxing. The few Christmas toys that were available were always kept behind the counter - out of the way of the hands of children. All we could do was admire the fascinating toy trucks, trains, dolls and wind up toys from a distance.

Santa was a more mysterious figure in those days. His first appearance was usually during the concert in the Orange Hall, and that was where we received our first gift - from a classmate who had picked our name about a week earlier at school. Sometimes we were lucky enough to receive an extra gift from Santa at the concert. This came from a parent - if they could afford to purchase an extra gift, but not everyone went home with two gifts that night. The Concert was one of the main highlights of the holiday season and I can still remember standing behind the curtain nervously waiting to go out on stage to say my recitation. The teacher was always nearby to whisper any words or lines that you might forget. The adults in the audience always seemed to enjoy it when a small boy or girl stopped short in the recitation and looked over toward the curtain to try and hear what the teacher was trying to communicate. The longer the silence and the more confused or frustrated the child's look, the more the audience laughed. I'm sure it wasn't funny for the student. Years later, as a teacher myself, I remember having to give a Grade Two student a quarter in order to get him to go out on stage. All the coaxing and words of encouragement that I used had no effect until I showed him the quarter. He grabbed it and scurried out onto the stage, saying his part flawlessly.

Santa's second appearance was around two or 3 P.M. on Christmas Eve. Instead of a Santa Claus parade, which we now have about a month before Christmas, Santa would visit Bonavista on December 24. Riding in the back of a truck, he would travel from Canaille to Bayley's Cove by way of Church Street, tossing out candies and apples to the waiting children. Then he would disappear in order to get ready for his "invisible" return later that night while we were sleeping.

On Christmas Eve we were in bed earlier than usual but that didn't mean that we fell a sleep earlier. Our ears strained to try and interpret the low, muffled sounds that came from the kitchen. Try as we might, we were unable to hear Santa's descent down our chimney. The last picture that entered our minds before sleep overtook us was that of the skinny stocking that hung from the foot of the bed.

Overnight the limp sock magically became pregnant. The first thing we saw in the dim morning light was the fat, bulging sock that alleviated our fear that Santa might have missed our house. While we waited for the kitchen to warm, we were allowed to enjoy the goodies that were in our stocking. There was always a huge apple wedged into the middle of the sock which gave it that pregnant look. Grapes, candies, candycane and peanuts were the regular items found in the sock. One year I found a hockey puck in my Christmas stocking. That meant I would not have to use a flattened milk can as a substitute for a puck the next time I played hockey on O'Deas Pond. I still have that puck (with my initials carved into it) that I received about half a century ago!

After opening the three or four presents that Santa had left under the tree, we were ready to visit our friends to see what they had received. After lunch, we would spend the rest of the day playing with our new "Roy Rogers" pistol, our new sled (there was ALWAYS snow on Christmas day back then), or using our new snow shovel to clear the snow from an area of the pond for a hockey game.

To quote the words of a favorite song, "Christmas doesn't seem the same no more!"