I Loved the Holidays

I always looked forward to holidays when I was a child. Some were more special than others, but all bring back memories of traditional observances and celebrations.

New Years - Staying up until midnight when we were "old enough" to bang on pots and pans when the new year rolled in. My parents never went out to celebrate.

Valentines - Sharing cards with friends at school and in the neighborhood. At school each class room had a large valentine box which was decorated either by the teacher or the students. It had a slot in the top where we could drop in the cards which we had brought for our friends. Back then we didn't have to bring one for each student, only to those we chose. On Valentine's Day the cards were passed out and we usually enjoyed cookies and punch. What was really different in my day was the way we purchased our valentines. There were no packaged, cheaply produced cards in quantities of twelve or more. Instead each card was purchased individually from counters located in "five and ten cent" stores like Ben Franklins or Woolworth's. The counters in these stores were organized by types of merchandise and each counter had its' own sales clerk. Several weeks before Valentines Day, three or four counters were designated for valentines. Actually they were more like large flat trays, each containing hundreds of different valentines. Each tray held either one cent, five cent, or ten cent cards. We would spend hours shuffling through all those cards to find just the right one for each friend. If you were willing to pay five cents, the cards were larger and would have moving parts, and for ten cents you could really get an elaborate card with moving parts, lace, ribbons, and other amenities. We usually just bought the penny cards, but loved to look at all the others. There would eight, ten, or even more children rummaging through the cards at a time. Valentines were distributed to friends at school, but also "ding-dong-ditched" on doorsteps in the evening. Fun Day!

St. Patrick's Day - We just wore green to school and those who didn't were subject to be pinched. And kids could be brutal with those pinches. No special food like corned beef and cabbage.

Easter - Easter always meant a new dress, usually home made. But sometimes Grandma Bernards bought us all dresses to match. And of course there was always the coloring of eggs and baskets full of candy, but no Easter Bunny. We were never told about a bunny who brought all the goodies. And as I look back now it seems strange that we didn't have some religious commemoration at home since my mother was so in to doing things for the right reason. I'm sure she must have tried to teach us the true significance of the day, but I don't remember it. Maybe I was just like most kids...to "in" to the new clothes and candy.

Mother's Day - Breakfast in bed and gifts for Mom...usually something we had made in school. I don't remember Dad ever taking us shopping to buy something for her. But we always bought Mom a gift on our birthday. That was tradition. I don't know where it came from, but I think it was a good one. It was a symbol of our love and gratitude for giving us birth.

Memorial Day - We called it "Decoration Day" because that was the day we went to the cemetery to put flowers on the graves of our dead loved ones. I never remember connecting it to remembering our servicemen who gave their lives for our country until I was much older. I just remember going to the cemetery, cleaning around the headstone of Grandpa Knapp's grave and leaving flowers there. Joined by Grandma Knapp and Aunt Dorothy we would then have a picnic at some one's house and play the rest of the day.

Independence Day - "The Fourth of July" was celebrated with a community children's parade. A "King" and "Queen" were selected in a contest to rule over the parade...children, of course. Young Jesse (Jean and Jesse's son) won the king contest one year. Following the parade it was off to the cool canyons for a picnic. But the high light of the day was in the evening when we were each given a whole box of "sparklers" to light and to draw pictures in the air. There were no other fireworks...just sparklers, but we thought they were wonderful. The city did put on a fireworks show, but we lived too far away from where they were set off to really enjoy them.

Pioneer Day - "The Twenty-Fourth of July" This was a Utah holiday, and it was a big one; huge parade, queen and court (had to be descendants of a Utah pioneer), ward assigned floats which usually depicted a pioneer event or lifestyle, bands, vendors selling all kinds of "goodies"...you know, everything that goes along with a parade. Because we had reserved parking at my dad's print shop right close to the parade route and the post office we always had a good view of the parade. Dad would set us up on the marble window sill of the post office (they were deep) where we could see above the crowd. After the parade there were always activities at Liberty Park near downtown Salt Lake. We didn't go to those, however, because we went home so Mom would not be there alone so long. Then it was picnic and play the rest of the day.

Since Carrie has advised me not to let each blog get too long (and this one definitely is) I'll quit here and finish the rest of the holidays tomorrow, or the next day, or the next. I still haven't told you what my favorite holiday was as a child. Can you guess?