What Ever Happened To Holidays?

Maybe somewhere celebrating continues but as we get older, it’s a real effort to get into all the wonderful planning and preparations that used to be so special—the ones we made when the children were still at home?

Remember traveling hundreds of miles to enjoy a day at the beach on Labor Day? Remember having a picnic on the cemetery hill where your relatives were buried? Remember going to Granma’s field for a “Cake Walk?”

Remember when “Trick or Treat” was fun and you welcomed the little fellows with neat treats? (That was before the big guys started combing the neighborhoods in their cars, seeking treats).

Thanksgiving! What a wonderful time— good family ties, good friends, and good food—with crowds large enough to have the dinner tables set up on the carport. It rained every Thanksgiving but that was okay.

Remember when Christmas was so special that shopping for gifts was a mission? A wonderful experience that was accomplished before the more important celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ? Later, at recent Christmas gatherings, were you in-volved in a gift cards exchange? Did you decide to draw names to exchange gifts?

I remember going to my first Dinner Theater show in Orlando… when my grandson was included in the show and proposed to his wife onstage. Most of the family was there and for a few years, it became the thing to do, going to the dinner theater just before the Christmas season. The highways became so widely traveled that, that too became passé.

Remember wondering why the Smiths, whose children were grown, would plan a cruise for Christmas?

Remember wondering why everybody wanted to celebrate on New Year’s Eve? Or—remember trying to sleep through New Year’s eve because you didn’t want to let go of the old year?

Remember your outfit that Mother made you for Easter? Going to Uncle Dave’s and Aunt Susie’s for an Easter egg hunt? Eating boiled eggs that were deviled in beet juice?

Now, we can send a message via e-mail instead of buying stamps and cards for all the special occasions—but we miss it.

As many family members, as can, still get together for special celebrations but distance is a problem and the traffic can be horrendous. We miss the ones who could not make it.

Cooking a fine holiday dinner was very special but it became more practical for each one to bring their favorite dish. Oh, well, that’s better than going out and waiting in line at your favorite restaurant.

Our veterans acknowledge events they encountered through the years they fought to maintain our freedom. It is a federal and a state holiday, formerly known as Armistice Day. It was given its new name in 1954 at the end of the Korean War to honor all veterans. Veterans Day is observed with memorial ceremonies and many local parades.

My dear co-workers left a Happy Birthday card in my mailbox. What a nice thing to do.
Speaking of special occasions, strangely no one ever remembered my birthdays until I got old.

Last year there were so many remember that there were two birthday parties—one family—one friends. It is coming around again. Please, just forget it this year. Like that song says, “I’m another year older and deeper in debt.” Lol.

Kitty Maiden is a staff writer for Seniors Today.