By Erma Johnson
Part 2
Sure enough, Santa Claus entered the back of the church with great fanfare and yelling orders to Vixen & Blitzen to wait on the roof and greeting everyone with exaggerated merry Christmases and many, many, HO, Ho, Ho’s. He indeed had a red suit and a big red bag slung over his back! It was sheer pandemonium!
Kids were jumping excitedly up and down, laughing, screaming and some bawling their heads off as Santa made his way to the Christmas tree. Long after I realized that Santa was not truly real, and was actually Oz Richardson playing the part, I still could not prevent myself from feeling that wonderful excitement that Santa engendered.
Santa Claus, with the aid of the senior kids, would pass out the various presents from under the tree. Even though most did not have much money, every child there received a gift from Santa. The most common gifts were colouring books and crayons, scarves, mitts or socks, or perhaps a lovely barrette for the hair.
Friends exchanged gifts and were comparing and sharing their treasures with one another. Before Santa exited the scene, he would pass out a bag of candy which was given to every child in attendance regardless of whether they attended our Sunday School or not. Then he would declare that he must be on his way as he had much work to do all over the world tonight and he would leave still HO, Ho, HOING and shouting orders to his reindeer team.
The concert was over and we trudged out to our sleigh and made our way home singing Jingle Bells at the top of our lungs over and over again.
Upon arriving home, we removed our stockings, yes, the stockings we had worn to the concert, and our mom would use a darning needle to thread some cord string through them. We used this string to tie and hang them onto the pressed backs of our kitchen chairs and set the chairs in a row in front of the kitchen wood stove. Santa somehow miraculously always knew who owned each stocking!
Then up the stairs, or as my dad always called them, “the wooden hill” we would wend, jump into our beds and dream about what the morning might bring. For sure there would be an orange in the toe of our stocking – the only time of year we got an orange, and some delicious hard candy. Our mother always tried to find something interesting for our stocking, perhaps a paper doll cut out book, or a small maze game (you know the type where you must attempt to guide a tiny silver ball through the pre-set maze) or a tiny wind-up toy or a little spool-knitting kit. Also there was always one special big gift for each of us, maybe a pair of skates, or a lovely doll or a nice angora scarf and glove set or an angora sweater, depending on our age. I remember how happy I was when I received a ball point pen as no other kid in my class had one — not even in the entire Junior room! It surely made me feel important!
I have attended many theatrical productions and professional concerts in the past 50 or 60 years and all were enjoyable. But none, I repeat, none will ever replace or beat the thrilling Sunday School Concerts of my youth. The simple honest approach to teach us and to help us celebrate the birth of Christ cannot be outdone. Actually, living the adage: “It is better to give than to receive,” stays with one for a lifetime and the inclusion of all in an important project no matter what age or what talent is a lesson I believe small rural Sunday Schools taught and instilled in us forever.
And as I turn on my radio or TV at Christmas and watch and listen to professional actors and wonderful singers doing their thing, I soon tend not to hear them as my mind always wanders back to the unforgettable Sunday School Concerts of my childhood at the small Trinity United Church in Forester’s Falls, Ontario and I hear tiny kiddies lisping Away in a Manger or see young boys walking awkwardly and uncomfortably in long bathrobes and Mary trying to adjust her stubborn halo. To me, those simple amateur performances instilled genuine joy and definitively exemplified the true meaning of Christmas.
