Tomorrow, we will celebrate Christmas — my very favorite day of the year for so many wonderful reasons. Of course, my favorite reason is the reason for the season. I hope and pray that you all have a most wonderful and very merry Christmas.
With only four weeks this year between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the big day seemed to arrive very quickly. My wife loves Christmas, too, and she especially loves decorating our house — to the tune of 15 to 17 Christmas trees. No, that is not a typo. I am serious. It gives this old man quite a workout getting all of the trees and decoration tubs down from the attic. But hey, I am in the game. I am up for it because, once again, I love Christmas, too.
What is your favorite Christmas memory? If you are like me, you have more than just one. First of all, I love what Christmas means — as I have so often written about in my columns over the years. And, as I have also said many times before, I love music. For me, I relate happenings, events and special memories to music.
For most of us, traditional Christmas songs include “White Christmas,” “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire),” “Frosty the Snowman,” “Jingle Bells,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” Andy Williams singing “Happy Holidays,” or Perry Como singing “There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays.” I also love The Carpenters’ version of that one, too. There are so many more Christmas songs I did not mention. Surely, we all have our favorites.
Though I relate many memories to music, I also have a few other Christmas memories that are extremely important to me. I remember traveling down Sibley Road in Minden — where my mother grew up — during the mid- to late 1960s on frequent visits to my grandparents’ house. I can vividly recall looking out the back window of the car while hearing “Silver Bells” playing on the radio. I could not have been more than 5 or 6 years old at the time, and I was fascinated by the glistening Christmas decorations adorning the utility poles throughout Minden.
I also remember the silver tinsel Christmas tree we had in the bay window of our living room. The tree featured a multicolored rotating light device that periodically changed the tree into different shades of color. I believe my mother said the tree came from Sears, as did so many household items back in those days. Just the other day, I saw a very similar tree while shopping with my wife, and it brought back so many memories.
I also remember our family visits to Coushatta — where my dad grew up — during the Christmas season. Visiting family “down home,” as my Grandmother Brown always called it, was special any time of year, but especially at Christmas. It seems we often made our pre-Christmas visit on the same day as the Natchitoches Christmas Lighting Festival and Parade. There was no Interstate 49 back in the early to mid-1970s, so traffic on Highway 1 was extremely heavy.
I was in Coushatta at the cemetery where my parents are buried just a few days ago. Memories of our trips from the 1960s and 1970s flooded my mind, and I found myself pleasantly strolling down memory lane during the entire drive home.
Like many of you, I strongly believe Christmas is not all about gifts. Still, as a child, there were some wonderful presents I will never forget. My parents were always so good to me — though, of course, I would never admit to being spoiled. I remember receiving my first set of drums from TG&Y when I was about 6 years old. I am not sure my parents knew how that gift would stick with me for life. More than 50 years later, I am still playing the drums at church — now, I am playing for God.
I also remember the Fender Stratocaster electric guitar I desperately wanted. I received it for Christmas in 1976, and I could not put it down. My “Strat” was a 1973 model in a natural blonde finish. More than 20 years ago, my wife — who was my girlfriend at the time — gave me a very similar guitar for Christmas.
Another special memory is playing my trombone as a teenager in a Midnight Mass brass quartet on Christmas Eve at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Shreveport. The church paid us $25 for playing, and during our first year, my mother made sure I returned the money to the church. In the years that followed, I was allowed to keep it — but only after tithing. What a great lesson to learn. Thanks, Mom.
There were also so many wonderful Christmas dinners over the years. And once again, let us never forget the most important part of Christmas — the most precious gift the world will ever receive.
This Christmas, I find myself happier than I have ever been. I have my wife — my best friend — bringing me joy in so many ways. As always, I am looking forward to the new year. Though we are living in unprecedented times, I truly believe 2026 holds many great things in store for us all.
With that, I wish you and your family a very merry Christmas and all the best in the year to come.
Randy Brown is Regional Publisher and Executive VP of Specht Newspapers, Inc.