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| Kathleen G. Coyle |
Today Geneabloggers asks: Did your immigrant ancestors have holiday traditions from
their native country? Read about other traditions in these posts.
My grand aunt, Kathleen G. Coyle, was a very private person but there were times when she would open up and give me a glimpse of her life as a young girl in New York City. She was born in 1916, the child of Irish immigrants. She was the youngest of seven children. Her father, Michael Coyle, was a baker.
She
told me she remembered looking for the longest stocking possible to hang on the
mantle before going to bed on Christmas Eve. Since she was the youngest, her
stockings were always the littlest. However, she wanted to get lots of treats so she looked for a long one to hang.
Little Kathleen would go to bed on Christmas Eve and her mother would wake her up at midnight. Their
apartment would be dark. Her mother would lift little Kathleen out of bed and hold
her up. As her mother walked through
their apartment Kathleen would pull the strings to turn on the lights all over
their home. Kathleen’s mother said this
was to light the way for Jesus to come. They’d hear the Church bells
ringing. Then they’d go in the parlor and
see the tree and the gifts, none of which had been there before Kathleen went
to sleep. There would be candles on the tree and pots of water set around the
base for safety. After briefly admiring the lights, they’d be blown out.
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That sounds like the most magical time.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Wendy. What a magical moment that must have been for a young child, going from room to room, lighting the way until reaching the lit Christmas tree!
ReplyDelete