By Jeffrey R. Bibbee, Ph.D
Over the last several months, I have had a chance to tackle those pesky home improvement projects – cleaning out the junk drawers,
tackling the garage and reorganizing the basement. You learn a lot about yourself during these exercises. How sentimental are you? What did you not throw out the last time you had a chance? How much accumulates when you are not thinking about it … or just not looking?
In these efforts to make sense of my stuff, I came across family items that have been deposited with me since the death of my grandparents – some by choice and some by chance. My grandmother was a bit of a pack rat. As a Depression-era teen, she learned how to save and how to be thrifty. She never missed a chance to save a trinket or a bauble that could become part of a craft project. She also learned to cherish things: Letters. Newspaper clippings. Wedding and birth announcements. Greeting cards.
In one box, I found a stack of my grandmother’s Christmas cards. She had faithfully returned each one to its original envelope. Handwritten notes related news of recent successes, excitement about the upcoming birth of a new baby (my uncle) and, of course, the weather. Each one told of long-lost relatives I only knew in the twilight of their lives but who lived on these pages with energy and vitality. The cards were a time capsule of memories, beautiful friendships and changing social conventions. From the mid-century artwork to the lack of zip codes to the penny stamps to the perfect penmanship, they told my family’s story.
I also saw my family history just a few weeks later as I put up the Christmas tree. Boxes of ornaments – some now faded in luster and some marked with the ravages of family moves and unforgiving fingers. School craft projects, childhood pictures and the Hallmark
series that reminded us of passions of our youth. As a family, we buy Christmas ornaments when we travel–small tokens of special experiences that fit easily in a suitcase and remind us of fun and adventure on their annual appearance.
The Christmas tree has become, for us, a family archive. It holds our story in small glittery objects. It tells all who gaze it where we have been, who we are and what we love. As I opened boxes with a slight layer of dust, I recounted stories and experiences.
This season, take the time this season to share your family’s stories. Add a note to the box with a comment on how an ornament came into your collection. Was it a gift? Was it an extravagance? Create a notebook of stories that can be tucked in with the holiday décor. Have
family members choose their favorite ornaments and write about why each one is meaningful to them and to your family. Add copies of family pictures so that the faces of those who are with us and those that are not can be part of the traditions we cherish each and every year.
As we embark on this holiday season, I hope you can reflect on your personal history. Bask in the glow of holidays past. Consider the joys of holidays to come.
Jeffrey R. Bibbee, when not traveling the globe, is a professor of history and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Alabama. He lives in Florence.
