Jewish Christmas. Growing up back in the day, our family was unambiguously Jewish (I was Bar Mitzvad in an Orthodox synagogue!). But (1) we lived in places with few Jews and (2) my dad managed a whole bunch of stores which meant that during the two weeks before Christmas, he worked every day until 9, except on Christmas Eve where he closed up at 4 or 5. So Christmas was a very big deal because dad would no longer work late (hed be home to scream at us!) and hed get the Xmas bonus based on how well he did. I especially remember Christmas 1959. Dad came home for a big dinner, we got our presents, and then he went out to the car and brought us the record player (also called phonograph or Victrola) that his store had used to play Christmas music. This was so great as we didnt own a record player. And he brought records, naturally all Christmas music which they had played in the store. We asked how long we could keep it. FOREVER. It was ours. I wont insult my memory of the 1959 joy by calling it a hunk of junk because, by the standards of those days, it was great. It played one 33 record at a time but you could play 45s with an attachment. No matter. We only had the 33 RPM Christmas records which we played for months, until mom discovered at the A&P that you could buy knock off hit records by dubious artists, three songs to a side, for 49 cents. So every week we would get songs like Splish Splash and Mack The Knife by Robby Darron or Donna: by Mitchy Dallens. It was wonderful. But our best records were the Christmas LPs because they were by real artists like Perry Como and Rosemary Clooney. So we played them year round. As a result, it is Christmas, more than any other holiday, that brings back distinct memories of my parents. Mom was so happy that dad wouldnt be working late and that he got his bonus. And we were so happy that they were happy and we got our gifts. It wasnt A Childs Christmas in Wales but it was special, and especially now with both my parents gone. I have one more day to listen to Christmas music this year. After that, to bring back my parents, it will be my moms favorite: https://youtube/watch?v=tBD9oj_B1qs
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 17:30:30 +0000
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