Childhood memories of Christmas in England

By Joan Janzen

Therese Malindine has lived in Canada for nearly five decades, yet she hasn’t lost her charming British accent. It was a pleasure to listen to Therese recall her memories of Christmas as a child growing up in the county of Essex, fifteen miles outside of London, England.

Therese Malindine and her daughters Karen (left) and Sarah continue to carry on Christmas traditions they learned in England. SUBMITTED

“Where I grew up is now all part of Greater London. It’s very different now than what it was; it’s not the same place I grew up in,” she explained.

She was born in 1948, just three years after the war had ended. Yet some foods were still scarce and were rationed up until 1952.

“We had Charlie Brown-type trees in the early years and then an artificial one after that,” she recalled. “We used to go carolling in the neighbourhood, and sometimes they would give us coins.” This was at a time when it was safe for teens to walk around the neighbourhood after dark.

“I don’t remember having a school Christmas concert, but we had assemblies almost every day when we sang a hymn and did a reading. Any school I attended had assemblies,” she said. The schools had thousands of students. “I grew up with classrooms with 40 kids and just one teacher. Back then they disciplined, so it was probably easier to manage.”

Therese doesn’t remember having her photo taken with Father Christmas. “But I took my daughters to see Father Christmas before we left England,” she recalled. “He was the same jolly old guy as Santa.”

“My mom’s church just across the street was built in the 12th century; a little different than here. We wore winter coats to go to church on Christmas Eve because it was freezing in there,” she said. The church was made of stone, and the hot water heat through radiators took the edge off the cold, but it was never comfortably warm inside.

Although Therese’s family didn’t have lots of money, her mom always put money aside for presents throughout the year, “so we basically got whatever we asked for and didn’t go without,” she said.

Therese and her two brothers would hang their stockings at the end of their beds in preparation for Christmas morning. “We would be up at 4:00 in the morning, but I think we got a bit smarter over the years,” she chuckled.

When they woke up, they found their stockings had been filled and gifts were tucked underneath their beds. “I can remember getting a really big doll’s pram (stroller) and my two brothers and I were trying to get it down the stairs quietly,” she recalled. “We would get what they called selection boxes that had small versions of chocolate bars, along with our gifts.”

The family’s big Christmas feast was held in the afternoon on Christmas Day. “The English go overboard with meat,” she said. “You didn’t have just turkey; you also had a big side of pork and sometimes beef. They didn’t scrimp on meat!”

She also remembered having lots of fruit, nuts in the shell, Christmas pudding, and trifle. “I still make one of those every year,” she added.

When asked what Therese considered the biggest difference when arriving in Canada, she promptly replied, “the freezing cold,” which isn’t surprising since they arrived in Canada in February 1979.

As for Christmas celebrations, she said her family continues to carry on the traditions they learned from her mom and gramma. “We add some Canadian things, but for the most part we celebrate Christmas the same way we always had.”