Merry Christmas

Christmas is tomorrow and I am enjoying a few quiet moments listening to my favorite holiday music. This is a welcome respite from my cooking frenzy that produced batches of nuts and bolts, bread pudding, sangria tarts, and my mother’s famous cranberry salad. Each song holds cherished memories of Christmas past and my mother’s southern culinary creations. My ears suddenly perk up when I hear Perry Como crooning, It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas. Was that one of parents’ favorite holiday tunes? I wondered what music defined Christmas for them and their generation during the war years. Many couples were separated for long periods of time and music helped them feel connected in spite of being apart. I recently learned that many of the songs that we enjoy today including White Christmas, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Let It Snow, Jingle Bells, Winter Wonderland, and Baby, It’s Cold Outside, were written during this era. Probably the most famous is, I’ll Be Home for Christmas. Its poignant words, sentiments, and longing made it an instant holiday classic that is still enjoyed today.

My parents celebrated their first Christmas as a newly married couple in 1942 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, outside of Camp Shelby. My dad had just been promoted to technical sergeant, and they were looking forward to their new life together. That suddenly changed in May of 1943 when he got orders to serve in the Pacific. For the next two years, they were 8,000 miles apart as he repaired army vehicles in the jungles of New Guinea. In his December 26, 1944, letter he wrote about his fervent desire to be home for Christmas and hoped that would finally happen in 1945. “Jenny, I miss you so much! I think I have lived ever year of our life over again in my memories. I love you and think of you always.” In December of 1945, they were finally reunited. I imagine their holiday that year was filled with joy, gratitude and the reality that he was indeed home for Christmas for good!

As you celebrate Christmas and enjoy your family traditions, I hope that you will remember that generation…their courage, sacrifice and their music. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas!