November 12, 2023
I’m not kidding when I tell you that one of my favorite memories as a child growing up in my home parish was the annual Christmas Bazaar. Each year in November -- almost like magic (so it seemed at the time) -- the very same school cafeteria-gymnasium-auditorium where I spent Monday through Friday eating peanut butter sandwiches and avoiding dodge balls was transformed into a winter wonderland filled with games, toys, junk food and a lot of hand-knitted yarn crafts. (Remember those toilet paper covers that looked like dolls?)
That Christmas Bazaar Friday, during the school day, each grade would get 45 minutes to spend a few dollars (that Mom put in an envelope with our name on it) on whatever our little hearts desired, and the Sisters highlyencouraged us to spend some of our “fortune” on gifts for Mom and Dad to be opened Christmas morning. (I can’t tell you how many mini-screwdriver sets and cubic zirconia earrings my parents received each year from my brother and me!) When we returned to the Bazaar on Friday night and Saturday afternoon as a family, my Dad would always make a big show of pretending he was going to buy the very same screwdriver set I had just purchased the day before, claiming he really needed it right away. I think he just loved watching me try to force him to search for something else so as not to ruin his Christmas morning surprise …
Looking back on those days, what I most appreciate about the Bazaar is that the event really brought us together as a parish community. Nearly everyone came. Everyone supported our wonderful little church, and the pastor loved meeting families and using the event to share the joy of our faith and our parish, especially to the visitors. It was a little reminder, perhaps, to keep the spirit of Christmas with us as a parish community all throughout the year.
As you are reading this, our annual Immaculate Conception Parish Bazaar will have wrapped-up for this season, with just some final tables and decorations to be put away. My special thanks to chairpersons Terry Gustafson, Paula Amberg and Gail Jusiewicz, as well as our many Bazaar volunteers, who made this weekend so special. It’s times like these that I see just how important a parish family can be to passing on the faith to future generations.
P.S. -- Let’s also hope I found that mini-screwdriver set for my Dad!