Post 25:
“A Christmas They Never Forgot”

Post 25: “A Christmas They Never Forgot”

December 27, 1982 – GOOD

“The whole family is snowed in. They reminice (sic) over Christmases past. 1) Ma’s – She’s a little girl and her stepdad gives her a necklace. 2) Almanzo’s – He doesn’t believe in Santa because he sees hidden presents. His Dad tells him different. 3) Laura’s – Mr. Edwards brings gifts. 4) Hester Sue’s – She believes Santa is black.”

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From Anne —

This flashback-y episode reminds me of why I loved the Little House books in the first place – the asceticism! The idea that the gift of a single orange or a single penny for Christmas could be rapturous. The idea that even the tiniest pleasure has value because of its tininess – not in spite of it. An ethic of appreciation to counter modern greed and disposability. An attitude of gratitude to make even the worst deprivations survivable!

But there’s always a dash of masochism. To wit: Mr. Edwards traversing an icy stream in his long johns so that Mary and Laura can have their candy sticks and Ma some sweet potatoes.

Anybody else shocked at the bratty, wealthy young Caroline, in her little skit about warming up to her stepdad? How did that pouty little diva grow up to be the holier-than-thou Ma Ingalls?

And here’s a thumbs-down for continuity: couldn’t the casting director have selected a young Almanzo with the same color eyes as Dean Butler’s? That little brown-eyed Almanzo and his 1970’s chili bowl haircut are a real distraction, sorry.

The best thing about this episode is hearing Ketty Lester work her pipes. In her flashback skit, I was again distracted by the fact that the dude who played her dad (aka black Santa) looked a lot like Isaac on The Love Boat. And that he apparently starred in movies such as Black Sister’s Revenge. The lesson? Be appreciative of a Blaxploitation reference during a Girls Gone Wilder blog post or whenever the chance arises. Merry Christmas, everyone!

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From Tracy —

Those of you detail-oriented folks will note that we jumped out of sequence in Anne’s journal to bring you this Christmas special. We will go back to our regular scheduled programming in the next post.

In Little House Land a hair shirt makes the perfect Christmas present! And being snowed in is an absolute joy! Speaking of being snowed in, Anne and I are bathing in the stuff. Anne lives in Indianapolis and I am home for the holidays. 8″ fell last night and the city is being dug out as we speak. By tomorrow it should all be running again. So we won’t need to tie a rope to the barn. And hopefully Anne and I will be able to exchange presents and gossip.

While we’re on the subject of Christmas and sparkly white things, remember how in “Little House in the Big Woods” Laura and Mary each got a little heart shaped cake in their stockings?

heartcakes

“Those stockings weren’t empty yet. Mary and Laura pulled out two small packages. They unwrapped them, and each found a little heart-shaped cake. Over their delicate brown tops was sprinkled white sugar. The sparkling grains lay like tiny drifts of snow.

The cakes were too pretty to eat. Mary and Laura just looked at them. But at last Laura turned hers over, and she nibbled a tiny nibble from underneath, where it wouldn’t show. And the inside of that little cake was white!

It had been made of pure white flour, and sweetened with white sugar.”

I do agree with Anne on the somehow refreshing austerity of the books and the shows. I remember reading this passage and trying to imagine the self restraint it took for Laura not to just harf the whole cake down in two bites like I would a Twinkie. It was dizzying.

And here is that recipe. I really want to make some someday:

Heart Shaped Christmas Cakes Recipe

1 Comment

  1. Anne
    Dec 30, 2012

    Thanks for the LHOP cookbook gift, Tracy ~ I’m up for making heart-shaped cakes anytime ~

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