copyright 2007 – Stephen Redgwell

Last Saturday, I saw the first Christmas displays in store windows on Main Street. Someone on the radio said there were only four weeks until Santa’s big night!  I remembered thinking, ‘Wow, where has the time gone?’

But that’s alright, because there’s a big change that always happens every year about now. December brings joy and laughter. It means good times with friends and family. It makes you smile. Santa is part of it too, but it’s more about Christ’s birth and what that means to the world. For me, Christmas has always been full of hope, promising a better year to come.  It also stirs up many happy memories of holidays gone by.

‘Tis the season.  Christmas. I love it!

I didn’t always feel that way. I used to think the big winners at Christmas were the chain stores like Canadian Tire, Zellers and Sears. Do you remember when Sears was called Simpson-Sears? I used to envy people who lived in the city – especially around the holidays. They had a huge downtown core, full of big stores like Eaton’s or Sam the Record Man. Lucky for me I outgrew that silly notion.

But that was years ago, when everyone went downtown to shop. Where else could you go? No matter where you lived – in a big city or a tiny village – main street was the only place to buy anything.

In the 1960s, that changed.  There was a movement away from the centre of town.  Newspapers started publishing stories about something called “urban sprawl”. People were leaving the downtown and businesses were following them.

When I was growing up, plazas became popular. They were collections of six to ten stores – later called strip malls – where small businesses rented cubicles, to get closer to where people lived. In cities, you’d find a convenience store, laundry mat, a bank, pizza place and usually a grocery store there. They were strangely alluring. No one had ever seen anything like that before! And they were so convenient! With their creation, shopping moved from downtown, away from Main Street, and straight into the ‘burbs. People were bombarded by advertising in the newspapers and on television. We were overwhelmed! Tradition didn’t stand a chance.

That was in the days when bread, milk and the mail were delivered right to your door. There were no superboxes – and it was the Royal Mail back then. It wasn’t until 1981 when the name changed to Canada Post.

There were no giant food superstores. Ice cream vendors and the knife sharpening man wandered the streets in search of business. People wrote cheques to pay for almost everything because ATMs did not exist. It seems like a million years ago now.

About that time, Christmas changed too. Television started to influence everyone’s life in a big way. There were fewer real trees in our living rooms. They were replaced with cheap looking, aluminium ones. Television boxed the season into 30 and 60 minute servings. More electric lights and glitter appeared – seemingly out of nowhere. It became less about church and family and more about shopping.

For people living in the city, it became a race to the bargains. There was a lot of glitz and glitter with flashy signs and Santas at every mall to attract customers. Ad men came up with things like ‘Boxing Day Blowouts’ and ‘Pre-Christmas’ sales. With the arrival of the Internet, ‘Black Friday’ and ‘Cyber Monday’ were touted to be the best times to buy. Modern life became a cycle of ‘spend and starve’.  No wonder they said living in the city was a rat race. Those of us who lived in small towns realized that the city wasn’t so great after all.

For rural people, things were a lot easier.  If you lived on a farm, Saturdays were exceptional shopping days – especially during the holidays. The family drove into town and saw all sorts of remarkable things. Every sign and lamp post was strewn with bells or Christmas angels. The town square always had a giant Christmas tree, decorated for everyone to visit and admire. The stores outdid themselves, creating eye catching window displays. Everything was bright and festive.

Parents shopped, while the kids skated at the outdoor rink, went to the library or stopped by the Christmas tree in the town square. The Internet, cable TV and cell phones were years away. Back then, people actually stopped and talked to their neighbours. It was as natural as breathing.

That brings me back to last Saturday. I was driving down the main street where I live. There wasn’t a parking space to be found!  But instead of getting upset, I smiled and thought, wow, it’s the 21st century and we’re still angle parking and shopping in the centre of town! 

Oh sure, it was busier than usual, but Christmas was working its rural magic. Despite the season, no one was in a rush. Friends talked with friends over a coffee at our local restaurant. The Salvation Army was at the hardware store, playing music and accepting donations for the less fortunate.  Everyone I met smiled and said hello. Everything was as it should be. The season was alive in my little town.

Christmas. I love it!