Which makes a child more happy? Loads of toys, gadgets and candy; or a simple gift that is given with lots of LOVE? Looking back onto my own childhood, I do remember many warm and fuzzy moments. One of them was when Dad took all of us on a Sunday in December, to a local restaurant where he sang with all the choir members. The PROTECTRESS (wife of one of the wealthy Chairmen) of the 'Horster Mannenkoor', male choir, gave each year, to all children of the choir members, a bag with candy and a thick orange. That was quite a treat for us. At that time children got no candy. The sugar consumption was still not so drastically high...
Here we walked just home on that Sunday in 1957. I was almost 6 years old (I'm to the right).
Sister Diny nibbles on her Spekkie = Marshmallow in a double diamond shape.
Martin is eating maybe a caramel and the stick of his lollipop peaks through the bag...
Little brother Piet is like me, still holding on to the entire bag of sweets.
We also got given an orange into our hands by the PROTECTRESS, that was very special, the smell alone was great as we seldom got any oranges at home.
We had to walk all to town = almost 2 km or 1 mile 427 yards, one way.
Baby Harry in the carriage... Two siblings not yet born.
This photo is taken in front of the chicken barn, away from the house.
Earlier in April of 1957, I was playing with my doll and the doll carriage that Diny and I had to share.
We usually got some clothes for Saint Nicholas but no sweets and very few toys.
Dad hand made for brother Martin, a beautiful wooden truck trailer, as he had to live frugal with his large family. So they only bought the truck, without trailer.
Each evening after supper, when the little ones went to bed, Dad went to his work bench in the barn part of the house. There was no heat, nothing... His fingers must have turned blue from cold. But proudly it sat there, for my brother Martin as a complete gift on Saint Nicholas day.
That is giving with LOVE! My Parents, and no doubt many others at that time, gave all they could afford but always keeping in mind that it was not about the volume of gifts but about loving and caring for their children. How much have they sacrificed themselves? There were no luxuries at that time...
Do you have similar childhood memories?
Certainly several countries are still living like that because there are no means for giving that much.
The question remains would that be better?
I learned to be grateful for very little!
Some thoughts for Santa Claus...
Related link:
{Saint Nicholas | Sinterklaas} previous post by me
