The department stores are worried that business will not be as good this Christmas as it’s been in previous years. Parents are wondering how they’ll manage to get their children all the gifts they’d like to get, and the country in general is getting in debt so high, one can’t imagine how it will ever be resolved. The words recession and depression bring oldtimers’ memories of what life was like in the 1930s and ’40s.

As someone who was born in that time period, I remember how every cent spent had to be carefully considered, how we did without anything that wasn’t absolutely necessary, and how we still managed to celebrate Christmas with the joy of what the day represented, namely, the birth of Jesus, the savior of the world. I don’t know if Santa Claus was as popular then as he is today, but he was definitely not a part of our celebration.

In the small Brooklyn, N.Y. apartment my family occupied in that time period, we managed to stretch the kitchen/dining area into the living room so that our aunt, uncle and cousins could join us for a dinner that my mother planned and saved for since the beginning of the month. A 20-pound turkey, which had to be ordered in advance, plus homemade stuffing and gravy, sweet potatoes and homemade cranberry sauce were the order of the day after everyone attended church in the morning. There were no Christmas tree, no gifts and no Santa Claus, but it didn’t matter because just being together with family, playing a few board games and enjoying their company seemed to be enough.

After I was married and had children of my own I realized the times had changed dramatically. A flood of TV commercials made kids aware of all the toys that were available, and Santa got all the credit for whatever gift they found under the Christmas tree. Someplace along the way, I resented that. After my husband and I carefully budgeted what gifts we could afford, little by little we let the kids know we were involved in the process. Not that they ever got all that some of their friends got on Christmas, but we didn’t believe in going overboard just to satisfy their every whim.

By the time the fifth child was born into our family, we let it be known that no one was to expect any more than three gifts each, and the world didn’t collapse when they didn’t get everything they hoped for. In fact, I think it made them less greedy and encouraged them to figure out how to get for themselves what they really wanted. Each of our children, when in their teens, managed to do small jobs like lawn mowing, snow shoveling or babysitting to earn a few dollars, and I think they were more appreciative and careful of a bike or a gadget they paid for themselves.

As the members of our family grew up, Christmas became a lot more expensive due to inflation, spouses and grandchildren. By then we had a house of our own in Connecticut and that was where all the relatives gathered for the holiday. Rather than supply a gift for everyone, we decided to go another route to be sure everyone got something for Christmas without anyone’s budget getting depleted.

At our Thanksgiving get-togethers we put all the family members’ names on separate pieces of paper, put them all in a hat, and everyone picked a name without looking. That’s who they would buy a Christmas present for. Then we got together again on Christmas Eve for a Norwegian tradition of open sandwiches and cookies, after which everyone opened their gift. On Christmas morning the grown-up family members followed their traditional celebration in their own homes, and that seemed to work for everyone. These days if anyone volunteers to make Christmas day dinner later in the afternoon, there’s always at least a few who very cheerfully accept the invitation.

Knowing that an earlier generation survived a serious depression should let today’s generation know that regarding what is happening in our country now, “this too shall pass,” and the future may be better than it was before — hopefully economically, environmentally and energy-wise. So here’s wishing everyone a merry Christmas and a happy New Year, in spite of the problems we’re facing right now.