Christmas Long Ago© 2019TonyFallon1206
I guess there's a reason Christmas comes at the end of the year
The days are short and cold and almost everybody needs cheer
Good cheer for many of the children would be a Christmas tree of pine
But many an old fellow would be looking for whisky or wine
All of the little girls would be expecting cute and cuddly toys
While the boys would be looking for cap guns that made lots of noise
My mother planned thegift giving based on the grocers Christmas box
And if any grocers did not respond she reacted with shock
Everybody would be looking forward to a fruity Gateau cake
If she was lucky enough and got three then she wouldn't have to bake
That was the time they send New Zealand butter from the land down under
Maybe it was margarine they were selling us. That I often wonder
Do you remember the flour we got and looked at the cake with disgust?
With a streak that looked a lot like plastic inside the bottom crust
If we got holly with berries, we pretended it was mistletoe
We got it on the Murray's tree in Scregg it was the only place it would grow
The days before Christmas were filled with all kinds of painting and preparation
My father would be coming home from England we'd all meet him at the station
He always had a big bag of toys from Manchester or Liverpool
The first question he asked all us children was how we were doing in school
He left school when he was twelve but wanted us to get a good education
He wasn't long in Farmore school but he could write and do multiplication
When we were young, we got cap guns and pistols I once got building blocks
When I stopped believing in Santa Clause, I used to get shirts and socks
When it came to meat for the holidays my mother never went shopping
She reared big turkeys so if you had a goose and a chicken, she was swapping
My mother would experiment while cooking with cinnamon and nutmeg
I can never forget the taste at Christmas of a roasted gooses leg
Sure, my mother cooked at stations in your mouth her food would melt
When she'd finally let you up from her table, you'd have to open your belt
For the next few days there were games of skill and chance maybe even crafts
And we'd have a family tournament to see who was best at draughts
On the ring board on the back door brother Brian often put on shows
It was many a time he scored fifty-one with five overhand throws
Our door had no locks and friends and neighbors often came rambling
And playing twenty-five for six pence wasn't considered serious gambling
This went on day and night almost daily from Christmas to New Year's Day
A sadness was creeping into the house our father would be going away
Those are some of the great days I remember when our family enjoyed Yule
I'll borrow a word from a different generation and say they were "cool".
I guess there's a reason Christmas comes at the end of the year
The days are short and cold and almost everybody needs cheer
Good cheer for many of the children would be a Christmas tree of pine
But many an old fellow would be looking for whisky or wine
All of the little girls would be expecting cute and cuddly toys
While the boys would be looking for cap guns that made lots of noise
My mother planned the
And if any grocers did not respond she reacted with shock
Everybody would be looking forward to a fruity Gateau cake
If she was lucky enough and got three then she wouldn't have to bake
That was the time they send New Zealand butter from the land down under
Maybe it was margarine they were selling us. That I often wonder
Do you remember the flour we got and looked at the cake with disgust?
With a streak that looked a lot like plastic inside the bottom crust
If we got holly with berries, we pretended it was mistletoe
We got it on the Murray's tree in Scregg it was the only place it would grow
The days before Christmas were filled with all kinds of painting and preparation
My father would be coming home from England we'd all meet him at the station
He always had a big bag of toys from Manchester or Liverpool
The first question he asked all us children was how we were doing in school
He left school when he was twelve but wanted us to get a good education
He wasn't long in Farmore school but he could write and do multiplication
When we were young, we got cap guns and pistols I once got building blocks
When I stopped believing in Santa Clause, I used to get shirts and socks
When it came to meat for the holidays my mother never went shopping
She reared big turkeys so if you had a goose and a chicken, she was swapping
My mother would experiment while cooking with cinnamon and nutmeg
I can never forget the taste at Christmas of a roasted gooses leg
Sure, my mother cooked at stations in your mouth her food would melt
When she'd finally let you up from her table, you'd have to open your belt
For the next few days there were games of skill and chance maybe even crafts
And we'd have a family tournament to see who was best at draughts
On the ring board on the back door brother Brian often put on shows
It was many a time he scored fifty-one with five overhand throws
Our door had no locks and friends and neighbors often came rambling
And playing twenty-five for six pence wasn't considered serious gambling
This went on day and night almost daily from Christmas to New Year's Day
A sadness was creeping into the house our father would be going away
Those are some of the great days I remember when our family enjoyed Yule
I'll borrow a word from a different generation and say they were "cool".
