There is nothing quite so sad as to wake up on Christmas morning and not be a child! Nothing brings back memories of Christmases at the Biddy Home on the glade more than a giant cedar tree decked out with bubbling lights: Christmas At The Biddys— If there is one thing the Biddys were real good at it was cooking and eating. I associate every holiday with the wonderful food we had. Granny McMichens brood were in and out of the Biddy house about as much as the Biddy brothers and sisters since she spent her twilight years with Grandma. Her kids were always on hand on Christmas Eve when the house would be full to overflowing. Many times Uncle Fred, Aunt Jenny and Aunt Ora, Uncle Jess, Uncle Grady, Uncle Horace, and Uncle Herbert and their families would be there...and Aunt Lillian, too. It would be standing room only when we all gathered together to share a meal fit for kings. Everyone brought several dishes and desserts. There would be baked ham, fried chicken, chicken and dressing, pot roast and/or pork roast, potato salad, green beans, fried corn, crowder peas, cole slaw, deviled eggs, bisuits, cornbread, ambrosia, fresh coconut cake (Aunt Bessie Lee’s specialty) , sweet potato pie that Mother usually took, chocolate cake, fruit cake (Grandma always made several), fried apple pies and Japanese Fruit Cake (that became Aunt Margaret’s specialty)……and probably a bunch more I can’t remember. Gallons of sweet tea and coffee were handy to wash it all down with. One thing the family was REAL good at was making a feast out of little, and we enjoyed eating better than singing, and thats saying a lot! Laughter rang out within those walls as the friendly teasing (which was a family trait passed down from the McMichens) bounced off one to another to another until someone got their nose out of joint and went home miffed. My grandparents were not rich, except in family. Every Christmas they would prepare all us grandkids a gift. It was a brown paper bag lovingly filled with fruit that Grandpa had made a special trip to get at the Atlanta Farmer’s Market (which was quite a trip for him to make in those days on the old 2-lane 41 Hwy). There would be a big old orange, a shiny red apple, a stick of old fashioned soft peppermint, some raisons still on the stem, some gumdrops and a chocolate drop or two, and a TANGERINE!!!…and don’t forget the nuts! Brazil nuts so hard they required a hammer to open them.....maybe you remember another name for them. These were wonderfully exotic to us because they were not readily available in those days. Grandma loved to crochet, and she made a special gift each year for one or two, and she eventually got around to making something for each of us. It was usually a doily that was stiffly starched so that the ruffles stood up all around. (I never have got the hang of making that starch.) She made a swan for me which stood proudly erect when starched by her hand. One of my fondest memories is a big old cedar Christmas tree that had been cut from a fence row on the property and decked out with bubbling lights and tinsel. It stood grandly in the corner of the living room piled high with brown paper bags bearing each of the grandchildren’s names and gifts from the “name-drawing” since nobody could possibly afford to buy gifts for so many people. When everyone had eaten their fill, we’d gather round the tree, sing all the Christmas carols as Kathleen played the piano. Then we’d exchange gifts. The older set had drawn names, and everybody had one present. Some were happy with what they got, and others…..well there were the usual prank gifts, too. Usually, everyone got together and got something special for Grandma and Grandpa that they needed like a winter coat or something for their home. There were lots of nice things for Granny Mac and Lillian, too. When all the mess was cleared away, wed gather up the gifts and left-overs, head out into the frosty night for home, ooo-ing and aah-ing at the Christmas trees wed see in peoples windows on the drive home. All of us kids, so tired we could hardly keep our eyes open, were nodding and dreaming of what Santa might bring. ~Merry Christmas, yall!
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 15:22:34 +0000
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