Carol Shields, Pulitzer Prize winning author, shared her memories of her mother's Christmas correspondence.
"My mother's Christmas cards made me see her differently. Her life was wider, more vivid, more thrilling than it appeared. Furthermore ~ and this seemed close to impossible to believe ~ she had had a real life before she met my father, before her children were born. Before me. ..
"The most eagerly awaited card, really a mimeographed letter, came from a man called Alvah Swain. My mother had met Alvah Swain ~ a journalist, a politician, a friend of Will Rogers ~ on a train trip she took when she was 20, and it flattered her to think that such an important person remembered the brief connection and honoured it each Christmas season with a detailed account of his busy year. She opened his letters breathlessly and read them aloud to the family, always, of course, setting Mr. Swain into historical context."

Source: "It's in the Cards," Carol Shields (1935 - 2003), Canadian Living, December 1998

Santa Came to Town ~

Santa Came to Town ~

In Wonder, Ian Eagerly Watches the Parade

Carol Shields, American born Canadian author shared her thoughts on Christmas cards in the Canadian Living magazine, December, 1998. "My mother's Christmas cards made me see her differently. Her life was wider, more vivid, more thrilling than it appeared. My Mother saved them all, even those sent from our insurance company and from the gas and light utility.
"A few weeks before Christmas, my mother took from the highest shelf in her cupboard a large silver-plated tray. She always shook her head when she looked at this tray, the way it had blackened since the previous Christmas. Then quickly, she busied herself with a tin of silver polish and a linen cloth, taking a concentrated, anticipatory pleasure in the task. When restored to its traditional lustre, this tray was centred on our walnut coffee table, ready to receive the annual onslaught of Christmas cards.
"These came slowly at first, then soon became a toppling pile....
"This was her tradition, the silver tray centred on the coffee table, where anyone might sit comfortably on the sofa and take pleasure going through the separate greetings...I never doubted that she took pride in her act of elegance and originality.
"I, too arrange my cards every year on a silver tray on the coffee table. I can't imagine doing anything else."
~ Carol Shields (1935 - 2003) U.S. Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction, Governor General's Award in Canada.

Tomorrow: Mother's Correspondence

Merry Christmas ~ the custom of sending Christmas cards

I have a list of folks I know, all written in a book;
And every year when Christmas comes, I go and take a look;
And that is when I realize that these names are a part
Not of the book they're written in, but of my very heart.

For each name stands for someone who has crossed my path sometime,
And in that meeting they've become the rhythm in each rhyme.
And while it sounds fantastic for me to make this claim,
I really feel that I'm composed of each remembered name.

And while you may not be aware of any "special link,"
Just meeting you has changed my life a lot more than you think.
For once I've met somebody, the years cannot erase
The memory of a pleasant word or of a friendly face.

So never think my Christmas cards are just a mere routine
Of names upon a Christmas list, forgotten in between;
For when I send a Christmas card that is addressed to you,
It's because you're on the list of folk whom I'm indebted to.

For I am but the total of the many folk I've met,
And you happen to be one of those I prefer not to forget.
And whether I have known you for many years or few,
In some way you have had a part in shaping things I do.
And every year when Christmas comes, I realize anew,
The best gift life can offer, is meeting folks like you!
~ Helen Steiner Rice

Note: We are indebted to our friends, Pat & Jim Northcott of Woodstock, Ontario, for sending this verse to us. Thank you to Sharon Jackson ~ after our appeal ~ for identifying the author as Helen Steiner Rice (1900 -1981) American writer, best known for her inspirational poetry. Thank you to Shirley & Gary O'Donnell and family for the above Christmas card.

Amy Lowell (1874 - 1925), US poet and critic. Best known for her biography of Keats and her leadership of the Imagist movement in poetry.

At the time of the declaration of war in 1914 Miss Lowell was in London. Late for an appointment, hindered by the crowds in the street, indignant at the police for not helping her, as she returned to her hotel she burst out, "Don't they know I'm Amy Lowell? And it was this month that my book of poems was coming out here! What attention will it get with this going on? What has happened to England? Why doesn't she simply stop the war?"

And writers today think they have problems launching a book!!!
~ THE LITTLE, BROWN BOOK OF Anecdotes, Clifton Fadiman, 1985

More on poet Amy Lowell:

When Amy Lowell's ancient car broke down, the garage mechanic refused to repair it until she identified herself and could guarantee payment of the bill. Miss Lowell informed the man that she was the sister of the president of Harvard and suggested that he call her brother. The mechanic duly telephoned Harvard.

Abbott Lawrence Lowell asked, "What's she doing now?"
"Sitting on a wall smoking a big cigar."
"That's my sister, all right."

~Graphics: Wikipedia

In Little Women*, Jo, Beth, Meg and Amy decide to give up their cream and muffins on Christmas morning in order to surprise the needy widow with a gift.
* Louisa May Alcott, American novelist (1832 - 1888)

"Resolve this holiday you'll try to perform some small act of saintliness. It could be as simple as a check to your favourite charity , or donating a few hours to read to the children at the library. But it could also be something that doesn't require someone else's official organization. . . dropping off a fresh batch of holiday cookies at the police station or firehouse. When doing your biannual closet-edit, bring the fashion rejects to the Salvation Army."
~ Swell Holiday, Cynthia Rowley & Ilene Rosenzweig, Atria Books.

"The best portions of a good man's life,
his little, nameless, unremembered acts,
of kindness and love."
~ William Wordsworth, English poet (1770 - 1850)

A Simple Homemade Gift ~
A tiny, delightful voice this morning reminded me of Christmas' past, "I'm going to make you something for Christmas, Grandma."
Early Christmas celebrations comprised a single, simple homemade gift for each member of the family, a special meal and traditionally some songs around the piano. It was a time when folks luxuriated in each others company around a natural tree decked in modest ornaments. As we prosper, the customs of Christmas consists more and more of many sophisticated events. The perfect gifts, extravagant decorations, expensive evenings with more people than we can possibly enjoy.

The excitement in a little girl's voice awakened something in my memory today. Perhaps we need to re-evaluate the traditional Christmas that we cherish.