Sunnyview residents say Christmas is for families
BUTLER TWP — Some of the residents of Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, now in their 70s and 80s, celebrate Christmas with their great-grandchildren.
“That's what Christmas is about — the children,” said Marilyn Hildebrand.
Some family traditions come and go between generations, but the one constant is that Christmas should be spent enjoying the company of family, several residents said recently when asked to share their memories about the holiday season.
Rose Brough said she raised a family, with three children, in Butler. Brough said that her family had a couple of traditions for Christmas Eve, including eating fish and going to midnight Mass.
They observed the Feast of the Seven Fishes — an Italian-American tradition during which people dine on a variety of seafood.
After Mass, the family would stay up until 1 a.m., when a special visitor would show up.
“One of our neighbors, he pretended he was Santa Claus. He would dress up as Santa Claus, and he would knock on the door and give out presents,” she said.
Genevieve Gall, the daughter of Ukrainian immigrants, said that her mother died when she was only 5 years old, so her childhood memories of Christmas include cooking, decorating and celebrating with her father and sisters.
Her oldest sister Anna was 14 when her mother died and she helped look after the family, Gall said.
“Us girls we had to do everything at home,” she said, adding that she baked her first apple pie on her own when she was 12.
Though she never knew what the words meant, she said she remembers her father singing Ukrainian songs at home.
When she and her husband, Mick, raised their three sons in Butler, one of their favorite treats was galettes, a type of Belgian cookie.
Hildebrand, who formerly lived in Fenelton, said one of her fondest Christmas memories was seeing her grandchildren open presents.
“I had a big house with a staircase and my grandsons would be upstairs — just jubilant. They couldn't wait to come down,” she said.
She also imposed a couple of rules on the family: She did all the cooking, and the family spent time together.
“Christmas was always a time that we are family. We didn't go anyplace that day,” she said.
Judy Steele, formerly of Butler and Chicora, said the tradition with her children was to go together to cut down a Christmas tree at Renick's Tree Farm in West Sunbury.
They would also celebrate Christmas Day with a ham, fresh-baked cookies and lots of other tasty dishes.
“I made everything you could think of,” she said.
Nancy Esplen, who grew up in Pittsburgh with her parents and one sister, said that her parents emigrated from Italy and they did not have any extended family in the area.
However, what they lacked in family, they made up for with close friends.
“A lot of their friends would come over on Christmas Eve before midnight Mass. It wasn't elaborate. They would just eat and play cards,” she said.
Esplen said that the focus of the holidays should remain family.
“People should just stay together and celebrate and have fun as a family,” she said.
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