I think this picture is from our first Christmas at our own home. It feels ghostly to look back at this photo, like a lifetime ago. We're all feeling reflective lately and that certainly isn't lost on me.
So, Christmas at boarding school! This concept is rather foreign to me, I'll admit, but there were numerous schools like this around the area. Jean Ritchie tells of her sisters attending schools away from home, and their happy visits back home. Christmas in the Mountains gives an account from a graduate of the Southwest Virginia Institute, which was located about 40 miles away from here in Bristol.
The girls at the school celebrated Christmas there, since trips back home were often difficult. One tradition they had was making wishes on the yule log before it was lit. They used some of the previous year's coals to light the new log. The school also had a Christmas tree, which was new to some of the girls in attendance. They decorated it with popcorn balls, colored paper, and Santas.
They sang a song in preparation for his visit and hung their stockings. The next morning, the socks were filled and they enjoyed a leisurely day of games. The popcorn balls had personal anecdotes about suitors and were used in a guessing game. They also enjoyed poetry recitations. This one was included in the book and I thought I would put it here. You may recognize it from Gilmore Girls, of all places!
Now comes our joys fullest feast,
Let everyone be jolly.
Each room with ivy leaves is dressed,
And every post with holly.
For ne'er yet was it counted a crime
To be merry and cherry at Christmas time. . .
At the end of the day, the yule log was extinguished. Some coals were carefully saved for the next Christmas, and a verse was said over them. The girls sang another tune and went to bed.
Christmas comes but once a year,
And when it comes, it brings good cheer.
And when it leaves, it leaves us here.
Now what'll we do the rest of the year?
Interesting reading. On a side note, I started watching Gilmore girls for the first time a few months ago after you mentioned that their porch was the same as the Waltons :-) I love it! Still in the first series so lots more to enjoy. :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear you are enjoying it. The old Dragonfly Inn is the old Waltons home, complete with the sawmill. I think that is in season one? I like the earlier episodes the best, I think. :-)
DeleteAnd like the photo of you - there is so much of you in Willow, don't you think? Lookswise anyway :-) Before children does feel like another life!
ReplyDeleteYes, there is. She's quite different from me in personality. :-D
DeleteLove the old picture of you! How special to have that. Interesting reading today... the idea of boarding school is foreign to me, as well. It's hard for us to imagine now, I suppose, how difficult travel used to be, particularly in mountainous areas. Some backroads in the Ozarks certainly were reminders! Lighting the Yule log with last year's coals is a tradition that I am familiar with from the British Isles. It's fascinating, how many of these traditions survived in the New World.
ReplyDeleteYes, we still have some pretty rough roads, though we have the "advantage" of the interstate here. Places west of here are quite challenging to drive. It is so nice to see the traditions and how they kept going. The current mainstream Christmas seems so flat in comparison.
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