Memories of Christmas past 1

When I was a little girl my parents were not church-goers so my memories of childhood Christmas are not very holy.  I was usually involved in a nativity play at school but that was about as far as it went!

At my infant school there was, of course, a Christmas party and Santa would come along.  All we children would be gathered together in the school hall having our tea and there would be a great bang on the roof.  Santa had landed with his sleigh!  All eyes would be raised to the high windows of the big room because Santa would walk along the roof of the adjoining corridor and we could see him through the high windows.  Within minutes he would be with us and each child would receive a book from him.

He would actually have arrived in town a few days before that.  He always arrived by train at the local station and would be met by his special transport which might be a sleigh or a rocket or a train.  What ever it was would actually be on a co-op milk lorry and he would then make his way from the railway station into town.  The route would be lined by cheering children and their long suffering parents.  He would go to the local co-op where he would take up residence for about three weeks before Christmas.

One year Auntie Hettie took me to see Santa and for some reason I was given a parasol.  Parasols have never been very relevant to English Decembers but I insisted in putting it up and carrying it thus all the way home.  Scarcely had I got inside the house but Auntie Hettie sat on it!  In view of that terrible thing I think it is amazing how much I love my Auntie Hettie.