The "Ghosts" Of Christmases Past

No, not really ghosts, just memories of two specific Christmases of long ago. Well, not so long ago, but, well, you get the idea!
Memory #1 takes place when Prof was in second grade. Back then, we still called Christmas, "Christmas" not "holiday." The elementary school where Prof attended put Christmas trees in the class rooms. The kids decorated them. They had fun. They actually celebrated the birth of Christ. Well, this year, on the last day of school before Christmas break, the trees had to be taken down, and gotten out of the building. They were real, and might cause a fire hazard if they were left in the school. That afternoon, Prof came home dragging the tree from her room. "They just dragged it to the street,and were going to throw it away, Dad," she explained. Well, we already had a tree up in the living room, so I found an old tree stand in the basement, and we put the tree on our front porch. Prof insisted that we put lights on it, and Mom garnered some small red bows from her stash of Christmas decorations. Prof had her own personal tree. She was so proud of it! We were the only ones on the block to have a tree on our front porch. We were always glad they didn't bring stray puppies to school!!!
Memory #2 concerns Lil Bro. The church two blocks from our house always had a live nativity scene the three nights before Christmas. This was complete with live animals, and all the trimmings. The lights would come up and the performers would begin. Mary and Joseph would arrive, enter the manger, then the angels and shepherds appeared. They froze in poses for a few minutes. The came the wise men all regally dressed in their velvet robes and crowns. As we stood watching them come slowly down the pathway, Lil Bro, who had been hearing the Christmas story for all of his 4 years said in a voice that all could hear, "Hey Dad, here come the "smart guys." Not only did the crowd of onlookers around us giggle and snicker, I saw two of the regally dressed wise men shake and stifle grins. Have we ever let Lil Bro forget this? No never! Such stuff are memories made of.

Peace (and good will towards men)
JE