Christmas Meme

I was tagged by cdsdame .

Best Christmas Present when I Was a Child
I don't really remember. I was horribly traumatized when was 5, because I came to realize that Santa or Jesus (as my mother told me) was not who gave me the actual presents. I really liked Christmas, but the magic was gone till I was an adult. I should have been grateful for what I got, but I was too young to comprehend what happened to our family. I had asked for doll furniture from Jesus. (Santa gave his presents on December 6, on St. Nick's day, and it was a toy meat grinder for my toy kitchen.) My dad lost his job on December 13. To preserve the money, my mom returned the furniture she bought and made me a whole set from wood she found around the house and covered it with beautiful scrap material. My mom is a real artist when it comes to crafts and materials. (She used to be a haute couture seamstress and worked for very famous designers.) The furniture looked as good as the one I was eyeing in the stores. But I recognized the material. I knew that it was one of the scrap materials she brought home from work. I took a hammer and broke the furniture to pieces. I was upset that they had lied to me. I would have preferred that they told me who really brought the gifts on St. Nick's day and Christmas Eve. From then on, I knew who gave the toys, but the hurt of finding out the lie was deeply ingrained in my heart. By the way, my children always knew the truth, but were told never to reveal the truth to the other children. I think that they kept the secret for a long time. We shall find out if miss_sophia  answers this entry.

Best Christmas Present as an Adult
On a similar vein, I was 19 when my dad had his first heart attack. It was a massive attack, and, back in those days, you were not allowed to go back to work for a long time. My dad was out of work for 6 months. We had just bought a new house, so money was tight. Mom had to stay home from work to take care of him. I was working and going to school full time. Every penny I made went to my parents. We survived on my dad's disability check and my paycheck. Hence, I knew that we were not going to have a big Christmas. We talked about just eating dinner and counting our blessings that dad was alive, we were together, and the mortgage was paid for.  Mom, however, managed to scrape up enough money to buy me a jewelry box. I was now mature enough to understand that the cheap jewelry box was worth a million. I still have it. I will never throw it out. When I die, miss_sophia  will receive it. I don’t think that she ever was told about this story. So honey, I apologize that you have to hear it so publicly.

Favorite Religious Christmas Carol
One of many: Holy Night

Favorite Secular Christmas Carol
Far too many: Rudolph, the Red Nose Reindeer, Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, Blue Christmas, Winter Wonderland.

Favorite Kids' Christmas Show
Charlie Brown Christmas

Favorite other Christmas Movie
It's a Wonderful Life

Favorite Christmas Food
No favorites.

Multi- or Single-Colored Christmas Tree Lights?
Multicolored.

I don't usually tag. So if you want to do this meme, feel free to do it.