By Donna Traywick
Mt. Olivet News

Christmas is finally here! When we were children, it seemed as though Christmas would
never come, and now, time flies by so fast.

I’m surprised that so many of you remember your simple Christmas. So many got new
shoes under the bed filled with candy. Christmas stockings were sometimes at
grandma’s. If I remember correctly, they were long. They held apple oranges and nuts.

Books and dictionaries were high on the list, as were notebooks, paper and pencils. All
of that made for a wonderful Christmas.

In your day as well as mine, there was no such thing as an artificial tree. The first time I
saw one, I thought that was the ugliest thing I had ever seen. It was silver, of all the
things. In 1930 the U.S. based Brush Company created the first artificial Christmas tree
in America. The aluminum Christmas tree was first manufactured in Wisconsin in the
1950s.

However, the first artificial tree was made in Germany in the 1880s. Phil Tidwell related
how his dad was a big quail hunter. It was quail season and his dad would take them
out hunting with him and seek out the trees as well.

LaDonna remembers that on the Sunday after Thanksgiving we always rushed home
from church, loaded up the Jeep and drove all through the pasture, looking for that
special tree. He would get rather aggravated with us, as he was happy to get one of the

first we looked at. Not us, we had to ride all over the whole pasture. Sometimes coming
back to the first one we saw.

So many of you also ate chitlins back in the day, and still do! After reading last week‘s
article, I remember a story about my husband, George and Dr. George C. Carlson. The
eastern star organization always had a Chitlin supper once a year. He and Dr. Carlson
would race to see who could eat the most platefuls. They serve both board and fried. I
believe they both preferred the boiled.
They also served fried chicken, but I wouldn’t eat any because I didn’t know if it was
fried and the same grease as the chitlins. He begged and begged me to take just one
bite. Just one tiny bite. Finally, I did. The more I chewed the bigger it seemed to get
finally while he was too busy. I spit it out in a napkin.

Here is a little Christmas trivia that I enjoyed. Hope you do as well. In the song, “The 12
days of Christmas”, how many gifts would you receive at the end of 12 days? The
answer is 364. White Christmas by Bing Crosby is the biggest selling single worldwide
of all time.

In 1836 Alabama was the first state to declare Christmas. Louisiana was next in 1837.

There isn’t much information on when Mississippi became a holiday but Oklahoma was
the last in 1909.

Fruitcake is not a much reviled Christmas edible that is noted for its long shelf life. It
never seems to go away does it? The average fruit cake can contain from 5 to 8 fruits.
On December 16, 1965, jingle bells was the first song played and broadcasted from
space. Astronauts Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra smuggled a harmonica and bales on
board. They practiced a few times before taking off.

If I have been given the choice I would’ve chosen, “Joy to the World”, as you orbited the
world. Or “He’s got the Whole World in his hands”

It will be 2025 when I write again. We need to pray like we have never prayed before,
first for our nation. Then the church, and last, but not least, each other.

Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2025

Email Donna Donnatraywickmusic@gmail.com