Holiday Memories: Old and New
By David Gallagher
Originally published in Inside Cape Cod, December 2004
For some, the holidays bring memories of days long past, of childhood adventures in the snow or perhaps a more recent gathering of friends.
When I had the opportunity to speak with three local figures about their own holiday memories, I was surprised by the ease with which they responded. These weren’t long-buried memories, but right at the surface, and ready for immediate retrieval. For Falmouth writer Fifi Burton, more recent memories of the holidays with her grandchildren came to mind. Cape Symphony Orchestra Conductor Royston Nash, reminisced about growing up during World War II, and the importance of warmth, family, and of course music. Cape Cod author Marion Vuilleumier holidays are a chance for her far-flung family to come together, year after year.
So whether old or new, remembered in sepia-tones or full color, fond memories of holidays past give us an ideal to strive for with each new season. When we slow down to actually think about them, they can fill us with the anticipation of childhood again.
Fifi Burton:
For former Falmouth Enterprise columnist and writer Fifi Burton and her husband Jim, the holidays are a chance to enjoy their large family. Members of the extended Burton family all still reside nearby: David and Lucy Burton in Mashpee, Janice and Michael Burton in Falmouth, Jeffrey Burton in East Falmouth, Timothy Burton in Haverhill, and Sharon Burton in Rockland. With five children, Fifi has many holiday memories over the years, but it’s the recent ones that stand out.
Fifi and Jim attend an evening service at the Menauhant Chapel on Christmas Eve, then gathers on Christmas day for brunch, an event that includes her cheese and sausage strada, fresh fruit, and usually a bloody mary or two. Lucy Burton, a baker, brings cinnamon rolls.
The family has consciously eliminated the big holiday dinner, so that more time can be spent enjoying each others company and, in Burton’s own words, “If we’re lucky, everyone still gets home by four.”
The Burtons are a musical family, and the gathering typically becomes an impromptu jam session, where the grandkids are the stars: James plays the drums, Jessica the flute, Kate the violin, and Erica plays the piano. The youngest two, Quinn and Mack play maracas, and last year Mack got a guitar for Christmas to add to this year’s mix.
Fifi still holds her own with this new generation. “I’m eighty years old,” she explained, “and I take this chance to show that I can still twirl a baton.”
Another holiday tradition in the Burton household has been to refrain from large Christmas trees in favor of what Fifi calls “a scrawny Charlie Brown fake tree.”
“It’s a merry Christmas and a big family,” says Burton, “That’s what it’s about for us.”
Royston Nash:
Ask Cape Symphony Orchestra Conductor Royston Nash about his holiday memories, and many vivid memories of Christmas’ past come to mind.
The first is a memory of his childhood in England during World War II. Because of bombing during the war, Royston and his family had to move from their home in South Hampton to a large farmhouse in Devon called Heartland Point. The farmhouse stood on a cliff top overlooking the ocean, and young Royston soon discovered that a Spanish shipwreck lay beneath the waves at the foot of the cliff. Needless to say, the imagination of a young boy soon turned to tales ships lost in fierce winter storms.
The family was invited to a Christmas party at the farm house, and Royston remembers a beautiful house filled with music and light and warmth. It is an image he still holds of a Christmas with the “beautiful people.”
Sweets were severely rationed, as sugar was needed for the war effort. Royston vividly remembers his delight when he and his brother found the hidden sweets their mother had been saving all year for Christmas. He doesn’t mention the consequences.
For Nash, the holidays are not about presents. “Christmas for me is basically about being with the people you love,” says Nash, “surrounded in warmth and music.”
This brings to mind another tradition -- listening to the Service of the Nine Carols of Lessons at King’s College in Cambridge, particularly Handel’s Messiah. “That piece of music is one that I associate with Christmas,” says Nash.
One disappointment for Nash was the actual loss of a holiday. In England, the day after Christmas, the Feast of St. Stephen, is celebrated as Boxing Day, and holiday festivities are extended an extra day. It was a harsh realization for Nash after he had moved to America when a relieved associate informed him that he was finally able to schedule an important meeting -- on December 26th!
His final holiday memory is an interesting contrast of the young musician and the conductor he would become. As a child, Royston would go caroling door to door with his brass coronet, and collect coins from each house. It may have been the first time he was paid for the music he made, but certainly not the last.
Marion Vuilleumier:
For Cape Cod author Marion Vuilleumier, the holidays have always been about family. Starting with Thanksgiving through Christmas, her family celebrates with holiday feasts, gifts, and a tradition of helping others. These days, getting everyone together is more challenging as the family is now spread from coast to coast, but still possible.
As a young girl, Marion was determined to see Santa Clause. Every year, she would try desperately to stay up, but was never able to spot Saint Nick. Her most memorable Christmas gift happens to be her more frightening. Marion vividly remembers standing on a pair of shiny new snow skis at the top of a steep hill near her childhood home, too petrified to move.
Born in Worcester, Marion lived in Connecticut before moving to the Cape in 1960’s with her husband, a Congregationalist minister. As an adult, she also remembers creating Advent calendars, where one window is opened each day before Christmas, a tradition in her church. For Marion and her husband Pierre, a minister, the holidays were always busy with church business and arranging Christmas services.
Marion has always made a place at her holiday table for the less fortunate. Through the years the family was always on the lookout for someone who didn’t have a place to go for the holidays or family in the area, and would invite them to the house for dinner. Her children adopted the practice in college, calling the day before Thanksgiving or Christmas to see if there was “room for one more.” There always was. Since then, Marion’s son Pierre has brought the tradition to California, where he opens his home for his annual Thanksgiving cookout.
This year, Marion will be traveling to Florida for a family gathering, not just for the traditional Thanksgiving feast, but for her birthday as well.
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© David Gallagher 2005.
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