The Village

Last week-end I set up my Christmas village.  Every Christmas, when I line up the houses, make sure the lights are all working and arrange the people and accessories so they are just perfect, my thoughts never fail to go back to when I was a very young girl and to the woman who instilled in me the joy of having a little Christmas village, Mrs. Richard.

Frank and Henriette Richard were friends with my parents.  They spent a lot of time together, visiting back and forth a great deal.  The Richards were wonderful people and were a part of many of our family events.

 One of my most vivid memories of Mrs. Richard is of a holiday supper she invited my family to. In my child’s mind, she had a wonderful sense of style and I loved everything in her home.  She had many beautiful ornaments and objects on display for the Christmas season.  But what caught my eye the most that night was her Christmas village. The ceramic houses were beautiful, each one beaming brightly through the darkness of Mrs. Richard’s dimly-lit living room. The colourful lights shining through stained-glass windows captivated me and I kept returning to the display time and time again over the evening.  I could not get enough of Mrs. Richard’s colourful display.  With each house lit up, I could see each detail of the little village. Through the windows, I could see the interior of the church, of restaurants and of homes. I loved how the tiny town glowed and twinkled.  I had never in my short life seen anything like it. I loved Mrs. Richard's village and I decided that I would have one too when I grew up. A few short years after that Christmas meal, Mr. and Mrs. Richard moved away to British Columbia and I never saw them again.

I kept that I promise to myself.  I purchased a little plastic village the first Christmas after I left home.  Each year, I took it out of its box, plugged it in, admiring its beauty.  Eventually, the plastic village gave way to a beautiful set of ceramic houses, just like the ones I remember Mrs. Richard having.  My village has grown over the years.  Most of the pieces were gifts given to me by my family.  I write the name of the person who gave me each building and accessory so that I will never forget who gave me each piece.  Every Christmas season, one of the first things I do is to set up my beautiful village. I love each house, store, restaurant and the people who inhabit the village.  As I plug in each house and place each character, my mind wanders back to that little girl who gazed so lovingly and longingly at Mrs. Richard's creation. She is long gone now, and never knew how her winter scene would stay with me and that someday I would have my own village, just as I had promised myself so many years ago. She would never guess that, after all these years, I think of her each Christmas as I set up my own village, inspired by hers.  This year is no different.  As I set my display again, I silently thanked Mrs. Richard for her inspiration and wished her a very Merry Christmas. 

 Keeping holidays traditions alive . . . it’s a good thing!