Of Christmas past

‘The Making of a Family’

Family holiday mementos are precious and tug at my heart. My mother passed away at almost 91 this past March, my father five years prior and their spirits hover over our holiday preparations this year. Our childhood home was sold and my siblings and I went through mom’s “stuff,” keeping things that we considered memorable. A ceramic Christmas tree sits in my living room and I remember the exact placement on the sill of the bay window in mom’s dining room. The best holiday keepsake which I discovered in the treasures collected from my parent’s life is a VHS tape of the 8-mm movies of my childhood, titled “The Making of a Family! Our Family.” I no longer have a VHS player, but the Norwalk Public Library has a VHS to DVD Converter for public use. The powerful memories of our family holidays flooded back. I could see my younger self, my brother and sister tearing into gifts. I could see a youthful mom and dad showing off mom’s fur coat that Santa brought and dancing while we watched. I could see my aunts and uncles, cousins and best of all my grandparents and greatgrandmother, moving around, young and vibrant. This was truly a celebration of Christmas past.

Lifelong Norwalk resident Cynde Bloom Lahey is director library information services for Norwalk Public Library.

111, and counting

Our Christmas treasure is a delicate pink tree ornament that dates back to 1911. The ornament was purchased for my mother-in-law, Dorothy Frederick, by her mother for Dorothy’s first Christmas. From generation to generation, it has adorned a tree in our family for 111 years. Pat Frederick, Middletown

Irving

This is “Irving,” my beloved panda from my childhood. I received him from my Polish grandparents in 1960 when I was 4. Sadly, he’s no longer fluffy black and white, and his music box has gone silent. He’s under my Christmas tree every year for the past 60-plus years. He was named “Irving” because Dad said he “looked more like an ‘Irving’ than a ‘Teddy.’ ” “Irving” slept with me every night, was “loved hard” (hence being bald now) and was my favorite of all.

Gail LaScola, West Haven

The Christmas ashtray

Made in 1964 by a fourth-grader as a Christmas present for my parents (it was the 1960s and they smoked). I must have been gleeful as I used “Happy” instead of “Merry” and signed it “Billy Field.” The decorative holiday plate (no longer ashtray status) gets a prominent Christmas decoration position every year. A December reminder of the impact that my parents had on me. The piece is 58 years and counting.

Bill Field, Monroe

A fireman’s tree stand

This is the Christmas tree stand my father made in the 1950s. He was a Bridgeport firefighter at No. 10 on Putnam St. In the 1950s. The firefighters made hundreds of these on their days off. My father made one for all the family members. This is the one my father and mother used and I was fortunate to inherit it. It is something we treasure.

Bonnie Clark Wilkes, Seymour

Kisses from Santa

The Santa head is 60 years old, one of four still used by me and my siblings. They came filled with chocolate kisses. Lou Ursone Stamford

Looking over 4 generations

We are fortunate to have nativity figurines of my maternal grandparents Alfonso and Teresa Maresca which were passed down to me by my mother, Eleanor Maresca DeLucia. The figurines are at least 120 years old. Alfonso established Maresca & Sons Funeral Home in 1888. The funeral home is currently very capably managed by my cousin, Neil Rapuano, who is the fourth-generation owner/ director.

James (Jim) L. DeLucia, Jr., Woodbridge

Packed away for decades

This nativity scene was hand-made in Italy in the early 1900s by relatives of my in-laws, the Louis Pomarico family. Characters and animals (some with actual animal hair applied) were handmade. They were brought to the United States as the family immigrated to the United States, and remained packed away for decades, having been recently discovered. They were carefully and cleaned and restored by me and now sit out for viewing at our home during Christmas.

Dave and Vanessa Denino, Wallingford