• Xmas Memoirs with Warren Job of Australia

Xmas Memoirs

Son of Bruce JOB, Grandson of William John JOB, Gt Grandson of William Thomas JOB, GGG John JOBE ( Gwennap Cornwall)

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Greetings cousins, from Warren Down Under,

I saw your thread, and thought Ii will subscribe my bit, unfortunately none of my elder ancestors were so rich in leaving written evidence, so i thought i would share with you my earliest recollections of Christmas....

Would have been about mid 1950's , I would have been about 8 years old, the school term for the year finished one week before Xmas, no decorations were in the house till we finished schooling... but my sister and I were making decorations to go up, like paper link chains, making and colouring in pictures of Christmas scenes.

Writing letters to Santa Clause and giving to mum to post. (That would be how they found out of what we wanted for Xmas.) Pestering our parents when are we going to town (*see last paragraph for more information about this town) for Christmas shopping, browsing the shops, seeing the decorations in the main street, and visiting the main toy shop where Santa Clause was in, there would be a que to us would be a mile long, but most likely in reality was only a good 20 kids in front all waiting their turn, we had to pay Six Pence (5 cents today) to join the que, and when it was our turn to sit on his lap and tell him of our deepest requests and he gave us hope that it will be there on Christmas morn, ( looking back - some santas gave the impression it will be there - but others indicated if we were really good it would be so, but if not, enjoy what we received on that morning.) Father would then go into the forest and pick a suitable little pine tree (Cypress) about 6-7 feet tall bring it home, he would then trim the tree to fit a 6 gallon bucket putting rocks and dirt, we would quickly find some old xmas wrapping and wrap that around the bucket and it to gain it rightfull place in the lounge room. Meanwhile mother would be making plum puddings, with calico bags hanging up on the back verandah in the cool.. We had no lights nor candles to put on the tree as it was not heard of in those days. Grandmother from Newcastle would send to us foil tops off the milk bottles, they came in different colours silver or gold, and for the Xmas period they had holly picture on it. She would clean the tops and dry them and press them on the lemon squeeqe, then put a length of cotton thread through them to hang on the Xmas Tree, they would move around with the breeze and reflect light and to us they were a bonus to have on the Tree.. (years later, when we were decoratoring the tree, Mario Lanza record O Xmas Tree would come out and while it was played, the tree was getting decorated.. (My children today think i am a pack of sandwhiches short of a picnic, when i do this.)

When we did got to town, ( we were on a farm 1,100 acres of wheat and sheep,5 miles from the nearest town of 500 soles, 45 miles from a larger town of several thousand.) We would be given Christmas pocket money totalling up to 1 pound ( $2 today) while the normal weekly pocket money was 5 shillings ( .50cents). While i beleive the weekly wage was about 6 pound ( $12) Us children allways had trouble trying to find something nice to buy for our parents, but it always finished something cheap ( cheap perfume for mum) which she always says it was nice (now-a-days, smell the bottles and they are quite off), hankys . and for dad, a hanky, a pack of lolly cigerattes ( he loved his cigs and cigars) and perfume. Something for sister sue and myself (why not ???)

Christmas Eve, the evening meal as usual at 6pm, bathe and into bed by 6.30pm to 7pm, we used to make a lot of ruckus saying but the sun is still up, we were told, if he came early and saw us up, he will not leave anything under the tree..

Then dad would drive into town to get something he said that he had forgotten... (we found out later, the department store had stayed open, for the parents to collect all their laybys that they had for close on 12 months and had been paying it off.... no credit cards in those days...)

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Christmas Morning,

The big day has arrived....

Eventhought we had tried to keep awake through the night, so we could catch a glimpse of him stacking presents under our tree, but we were soon in never never land, dreaming of lovely things to come.

We would be up before 5am, sneaked out to the lounge room, and sure as eggs there was presents for all, christmas stockings and a empty glass and plate.

The first year my sister and raided the tree and by 6am had all the presents opened and the parents were quite annoyed, so the rules were brought in..

When we woke up, we could go to the lounge room and only look and do not touch the presents under the tree, but return to our bedrooms and what was left on the foot of our beds was ours to open ( to keep us occupied, while the parents slept in.... on a farm, basically there were no days off, there was always something needed doing...)

We would opened our Xmas Stocking and in those days they were a bonus to us kids, lollys to eat, comic books to read, puzzles to do, and a small toy to play with.

By 7am we would be making some noises, to help our parents to wake up, breakfast would be something special, bacon and eggs ( normally we would have cerial breakfast, toast), into clean clothes and off to Christmas Mass Service in town about 9.30am.

Our friends would be telling us of what they already got for xmas, while we had to say, we had not as yet opened ours, but will know as soon as we get back from church, change into our yard clothes and then when all the family be sitting around in the lounge room, then father would hand out all the presents and wished us a merry xmas and that we appreicated the gift that we received..

In the early days, we only got a shop brought stocking bag which was left on the foot of our bed. years later it became a part of the Santa bag filler.

During those early days, under the Christmas tree of what to us was very precious, but nowaday looking back very plain to the current tree dressings..

We got one main present from Santa, one from our parents, one from Grandma ( mainly socks, handkerchief, singlet), and one from a favourite aunt..

On the tree there was popcorn threaded onto cotton hunging there for us to pull off and eat.

On the breakfast table there would be plates filled with cherries, nuts and lollies, they stayed there till they were emptied... ( cherries to me were always associated with Christmas as the only time we ever saw them was on Christmas day.)

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Part 3... Midday meal..

As always, the Christmases we had on the farm was always hot... one year we had read 110f. on the front verandah.

In our kitchen,( this part of the old farm house was built around 1890's), we had a wood burning stove, mum would always slave over it to produce our wonderful meals..

Each year we would have something special done for the hot midday meal.... Pork one year, beef the next, and if we had a good season, we would start off with hot duck soup, (the only part about eating wild ducks was biting onto the shot that was still in the body..)

The table would be laid out to us kids it was a great spread as mum made the extra special effort for the special day with only meager income from the farm, but we did fine..

The fine tablecloth was laid, bon bons at each setting, the best silver laid out, bowls of nuts/lollies/fruits graced the table and in the meal would be served... the hot meat with gravy, boiled potatoes, greens(peas/beans), cob of corn, squash, spinnach, ( these would be picked from the house garden.. except for the potatoes which was shop brought..)

As we be seated at the table, sometimes just the 4 of us, or other times with relatives, grace be said and we would all pull our bon bons, put on the party hats, and feast on the Christmas feast. Dessert would follow, plum pudding, with custard and cream , jelly .

while the grown ups drank beer at the table, we had home made cordial, ( boiled water with sugar, add the red favour and served cold, just add 3 parts water,, to us kids it was a great drink, a lot better than drinking water from the house tank, or drinking warm milk straight from the cow, or cool milk from the kerosene fridge.

We would be playing with the toys ( mainly cap guns, cowboy outfits, nurse uniform, dolls) that we had received and sometimes, they would be repainted/mended ones and later on we hear that they were hand me downs and for us not to break them, (bikes and prams) so when we were finished with them, they would be handed on to the cousins at a later date... By the turn of the early 1960s, this practiced had ceased, and there were a lot of nice extra toys coming onto the market from Japan, but to us kids we soon learned that cheap did not last the hour or day out , by then we would be heartbroken, but the parents blamed us for been too rought on the toys, but those toys just did not stand up to us kids... and we were disappointed in them.

The evening meal was something simple, as we had stuffed ourselves all day and just wanted a top up before bed..

One thing that always stuck in my head, every morning after Christmas day, when the tree was up, i would go and check it out, just in case Santa made a second visit and forgot to give me the present that i did not receive...

The Christmas tree, by the end of the old year, it starts to sag a bit, the house is full of the pine smell, which is nice and is associated with Christmas..

Our Christmas tree would be taken down either on New Years day or the 2nd, depending upon what day we put the tree up ( as my stepfather introduced the 12 days of Xmas to us ( the Christmas tree is only to up for 12 days) and the playing of the Record of O Christmas Tree..

While today, we fill our house with decorations inside and outside, send/receive christmas cards to everyone we know, send/receive emails, and visit the shops with Christmas decorations and sales. The Christmas sales would start about October each year, and to my way of thinking it is giving the young kids of today, 3 months of Christmas, whereas in my days of growing up it would only have been less than a fortnight.....

This has been my Christmases of past, and hopeing for more to come and plenty of friends, relatives and family to share them with.

For a long while Christmas was not my favourite time of the year, In 1968, my sister, who had recently married , was killed in an car accident 8 days before Christmas and the saddest thing was that my mother was overseas visiting friends for Christmas, it took several days before she was told due to the problems in trying to contact her...

Well anyhow, these are my Christmas memories ...

I wish everyone Seasonal Greetings and Best Wishes, plenly of food , friends and family to share it with and the extra very best for the forthcoming New Year

Warren Job
Australia

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Where Warren Actually lived in Australia

The town near where i was brought up is Trundle NSW Australia , the only boost to fame was its wide main street, wide enought for a 20 bullock team to turn around in the old days... and the biggest town to that was Parkes NSW Australia and its fame is the radio telecope, and this is the one they made the movie about called " The Dish", ( mainly about collecting signals from the first manned flight/walk on the moon.... and playing cricket on the dish...)