Today is the day after Christmas. The anticipation and preparations are over. Cookies and other Christmas treats, lovingly made days before, have mostly been consumed by now. The church Christmas program and candle-light service are past. We completed our Advent calendar puzzle. Presents have been opened and are now in use or put away. Or returned. Most family gatherings are over, although some may still occur between Christmas and New Year. Pretty much all that is left is the tear-down and clean-up.
December 26 is also the Second Day of Christmas of the Christmas festival season, The Twelve Days of Christmas. Traditionally, the Christmas Season ends on the evening of January 5, the Twelfth Night. January 6 is Epiphany, the celebration of the Magi’s visit to Baby Jesus.
I have read that it could be bad luck to leave Christmas decorations up beyond January 5. No problem here. That gives us more time to enjoy them.
Christmas 2024 is now a memory in our minds and in our photographs.
Here are some photos of past family Christmas gatherings. My dad is absent in most of the photos because he was the photographer.
My first Christmas with Grandpa & Grandma Miller and my Miller cousins.
Miller Christmas 1952.
Later that day I fell and cut my head and wasn’t so happy to sit on Santa’s lap, aka Uncle Kenny.
Karen on Scary Santa’s lap. (Santa, aka Uncle Kenny)
The Miller Christmas, about a year later, 1953:
Christmas at the Carl & Gertrude Miller home, c1953.
At Grandma Schumm’s, with cousins, late 1950s:
Cousins Susie, Sharon, Karen, Diane, Ron
Christmas dinner at Grandma & Grandpa Schumm’s, in the early 1960s:
Christmas at Cornelius Schumm home (c1963)
Aunt Amy had Christmas dinner in the early 1970s:
Christmas at Aunt Amy’s, c1970
Christmas at Aunt Amy’s, c1970
The Carl Miller family Christmas tree in 1951:
Carl Miller family Christmas tree (1951)
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Karen, enjoyed Miller family photos. Recall visiting Carl Miller house many times as a youngster. Kenny and I played game of checkers regularly. We also compared technical notes while he was at Tri-State College and I at Indiana Technical College. I also remember your dad getting stuck over night in a snow storm enroute to be married at Schumm church. He was driving his 1949 model Studebaker Star-lite coup. I met him as he walking south on Rte. 49 early on Sunday morning.
Author
Great memories, Farrel! I love hearing these stories. Thanks for sharing.
The wallpaper patterns were bold, strong patterns. I was told that following the Depression and World War II when goods were scarce, people opted for bright colors and bold patterns in their homes. Your grandmother was apparently among them. Can you remember the colors?
Author
That is interesting and I know what you mean about the bold wallpaper colors. Unfortunately I do not remember what the colors were. She used bold patterns, though. Thanks for writing.
Thank you for sharing these photos of family celebrations from the past. What a wonderful trip down memory lane and reminder of how quickly the years go by. Wishing you all the best for the New Year!
Author
You are welcome! Old photos sure do bring back a lot of memories. Happy New Year to you and yours and thanks for writing.