“Well, you see, our Christmas has
cost next to nothing for what we bought was necessary anyway, but we’ve had a
big time this hard times Christmas. Everything looks different when you look at
it from Robinson Crusoe’s standpoint, surrounded by a sea of depression, and
things show up at a more real value. We appreciate the actual values of things.
So we’re going to have a very merry Christmas.” – Ina Dobson, 1932
“Gram,
what does half past November mean,” asked Sadie.
“It
means the middle days of November – perhaps November 12th through 17th,
or something like that,” answered Ina. “Why do you ask?”
“It
says here,” read Sadie from the cookbook, “’When it’s half-past November, gifts
should be finished and ready to wrap.’ Are your gifts ready to wrap,
Gram?”
Sensing
Ina’s irritation, Jack chuckled, then quickly burrowed a little more deeply
behind the copy of Atlantic Monthly he was reading.
“We
are mostly ready,” said Ina, primly. Can’t you just hear her? “Our boxes will
be mailed on time. You can help me wrap the gifts and pack the boxes.
“A gift is something you make,”
announced the little cookbook, and for Ina, this was true. She never said she
couldn’t afford to give Christmas gifts. And she was happy enough to receive in kind, but she did want to receive. She was disappointed when her
children said they were strapped and couldn't send gifts. Ina put on her “thinking
cap” in order to provide a thoughtful gift for the recipient. Homemade items
were the norm – a jar of jelly, a child’s apron from fabric scraps, book
covers, dress or shirt protectors – well, you get the picture. She also re-gifted,
shared items that had come to them through the purchase of seed and grain (premiums), and
even gave “like new” or treasured items from her storehouse.
“People can do things like this,”
said Ina to Vance. “No use to let it all go because of hard times.”
We don’t think like that today.
Maybe we should. KW
3 comments:
I agree that homemade items are a special gift. I do still like to make them when the right idea comes to mind. I am, however, usually a last minute shopper because I hate to buy too early and then have the perfect idea at the last minute. No half past Novembers for me!
I know that Ina sacrificed in order to provide gifts to her family, and I feel that her underlying thought was that if she, who had nothing, could give a gift, then there was no excuse for her children not to send in kind. If they couldn't afford to buy her something, they sent nothing, while she looked around the house to find things to send. I think as a society we've come a long way from that philosophy. Times have changed.
On the other hand, I think the "folks on the farm" did hope that they could depend on their children with jobs to provide some perks.
I think most of us aren't ready by "half past November." I saw that as tongue in cheek.
A gift is just something that says, "I thought of you", which I suppose is why we have that saying. It's nice to be thought of, even if the gift is small.
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