Catholics recall favorite Christmas traditions

For many Catholics, Christmas would not be the holiday it is without their parish church or school. As a conclusion to our series of articles anticipating the 150th anniversary of the Albany Diocese, two priests, one sister and one longtime parishioner share some memories of Christmases past.

Rev. Paul Engel, a retired priest who lives in Schoharie, graduated from Vincentian Institute in Albany. What he remembers most about the Christmas season is the symbolism of light overcoming darkness.

"As a boy, I always loved decorating the tree and putting candles in the window," he said. "I remember our church was always decorated with candles and wreathes. I loved walking the streets and seeing how our neighbors decorated their homes."

He still loves the Christmas season because it's the time of the year when people have permission to give gifts to the people they love. "As a priest, I know that this is also the time of the year when some people come back to Mass," he said. "I can finally be in touch with people I don't always get to see. It is a time when I can reach out to them and try to welcome them back to the parish."

Rev. Frank Gilchrist, a retired priest who resides at St. Casimir's Church in Albany, spent many years away from his family during the Christmas season as a military chaplain.

"I have nice Christmas memories as a child," he said. "I was the oldest of six children, and I remember being an altar boy at Christmas Mass on a few occasions. They didn't have Midnight Mass until the 1940s, so my family would always attend an early morning Mass on Christmas day."

He remembers wanting to go to bed early on Christmas Eve so he could wake early and see what his gifts were. "I never received anything like most kids today get," he said, "but what I received usually had some important meaning to me."

During the early 1940s, when he was in the seminary, he enjoyed coming home and spending time with his family during the Christmas holiday. "My parents always stressed the importance of the season as a celebration of Our Lord's coming and as a way of giving Himself to us," he said.

In the military for 29 years, he spent many Christmas Days alone with military people, sometimes in foreign countries, but always with people who were homesick for their families. "It's been my experience that this time of year has always brought out a solid core of goodness in most people," he said. "Christmas seems to touch our hearts and encourage us to reflect."

He will always remember the Christmas he spent in Bangkok, Thailand, in the early 1970s. "Less than one percent of the people in Thailand are Christian, and yet they loved to decorate their homes during the Christmas season," he recalled. "Somehow, it seemed to me that they still absorbed the spirit of Christmas without being Christian."

Sister Monica Murphy, CSJ, who works in the guidance office at Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons School in Schenectady, has fond memories of singing in the choir on Christmas Eve when she was a child at St. Mary's Church in Hudson. "The Christmas Mass was always the most important part of the holiday for my parents," she said.

"One of our big family traditions was decorating the tree and singing Christmas carols," she continued. "My parents would always invite some of the neighbors who had no children to our Christmas dinner, and we always opened our presents as a family on Christmas Eve."

She never received expensive gifts like many of her friends. "I never got a stereo or skis," she said. "Many of my presents were handmade. A lot of caring went into them, and they always meant a lot to me. Christmas in my family wasn't about money. It was a time to enjoy each other's company."

She fears that Christmas had lost much of its meaning today. "It's hard not to get caught up in the material aspect of Christmas," she said. "A few weeks ago, I bought some Christmas presents and put them in my car. When I came out of the mall, I discovered that someone had broken into my car and taken the gifts. My reaction was that they must have needed the gifts more than I did. But still, it made me sad to think that many people have forgotten the true Christmas spirit of giving."

Sister Monica still sings in her church choir during Christmas Mass and enjoys visiting her sister on Christmas Day. "My sister has six children," she said, "and I enjoy their company on Christmas. As a family, we still give personal gifts, and we try to keep Christmas very meaningful."

Bernice Trejderowski has been a parishioner of St. Stanislaus Church in Amsterdam since the early 1900s. "When I was a girl, Christmas was nothing like it is today," she said. "I attended St. Stanislaus school, and I always enjoyed being in the Christmas play. Everyone would go to confession around Christmas so you could receive communion at Christmas Mass."

Her father worked hard to earn seven dollars a week, and her mother would take care of the children and still find time to sew blouses for 25 cents a shirt.

"We never had much money," she said. "But every Christmas Eve, we'd hang up our stocking, and on Christmas morning we'd have an orange, a couple of nuts and some candy. Once, my godmother bought me a doll on Christmas, and I can still remember how much I treasured that doll."

Her family would make popcorn and thread it so they could decorate the Christmas tree. "We also put beads on the tree," she said, "and the tree had real candles that would snap on the branches. It took a long time to light every candle, and I remember we'd always have to make sure every candle was blown out before we went to sleep. Everything is a lot easier today."

One thing that hasn't changed much is the Christmas Mass. "We have a tree in the church now," she said, "which is something we wouldn't have done years ago. But we still sing Polish Christmas carols before the Mass."

(12-19-96) [[In-content Ad]]