These wise ladies reveal the true meaning of Christmas

Almeda Libby, left, and Bernice Irene Burhoe recalled Christmases past at the Rochester Manor earlier this week. (Rochester Voice photo)

ROCHESTER - It's finally here. Christmas Eve. The shopping's all done and the best is yet to come.

Snugly ensconced in this magic of Christmastime, it's unlikely many of us today will ponder singularly, or with others, what, indeed, is the true meaning of Christmas.

Few of us pretend to have the quintessential answer, either, but a couple of ladies who live in Rochester might be able to steer you in the right direction. They should know. They've seen more Christmases than most of us.

"It's all about the children, they enjoy it," said 100-year-old Almeda Libby, who formerly lived in North Berwick, Maine, but now calls Rochester Manor home.

Libby had 10 children in all, so she should know a thing about that.

And when the Libbys sat down to Christmas dinner, it was a huge production.

"We always had a big Christmas dinner, with turkey and everything, just like Thanksgiving," she said.

Decorating the Christmas tree and the house was also a huge deal, she said.

"We always had a Christmas tree and decorations all over the house," she said. "Everybody pitched in."

Asked what she remembered the most, she reflected a moment then said, "I remember how the house looked, how the tree looked and how the children acted," adding softly, "I used to enjoy it more than I do now, now my children are all grown up."

Like Libby, Bernice Irene Burhoe grew up during the Great Depression of 1929. There weren't always a lot of presents under the tree.

Burhoe, 95, formerly of Newick, Vt., but now at Rochester Manor, said, "Many years we didn't have a very good Christmas, so we prayed. The times were bad back then."

She said her father worked for a person who cut wood to make timber to build buildings, and sometimes there weren't a lot of presents under the tree.

But she vividly remembers getting the most beautiful present ever when she was just 10 years old.

"I got this beautiful doll," she said. "And another Christmas my brother bought me a carriage for my doll."

For Burhoe, the overriding joys of Christmas were prayers and faith.

"It's about God," she said. "We prayed every day as a family and we prayed on Christmas as a family.

She recalled family dinners, especially on Christmas.

"We always got together as a family and said the Lord's Prayer before we ate dinner, then we'd go around the table and everybody had a chance to talk," she said.

Burhoe said after she got married, she was blessed with two children.

"I remember my kids being happy, but back in those days people didn't have a lot of money," she said. "So we prayed. We'd say the Lord's Prayer. Remember God, don't forget God."

On this magical night when we celebrate the coming of God's son, the Christ child, it's interesting that these two women know nothing's more important on Christmas than God and children.