By Charles Romans
Carter County Times
Kentucky State Senator for District 18 (Boyd, Carter, Greenup, Lewis) Robin Webb has a lot of fond memories of Christmas in Carter County. Many of those memories, she said, revolve around spending time at her grandparents’ home in Grahn, when her grandmother would cook, and the family would go hunting. Extended family would come in from Ohio, she said, and they would all enjoy spending time together.
“It was pretty simple,” Webb said. “A lot of old-fashioned food and candy, and maybe candy canes.”
Webb also said that neighbors used to go all out when she was younger.
“It was a big time for the neighbors,” she said. “People would go to each other’s houses on Christmas Eve, and even on Christmas Day. There was a lot of fellowship, and mom would always have a snack table ready. It was a time for family, but also a time for your neighbors.”
She also remembers that Christmas lasted longer than Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
“Of course, when you’re in school it lasted the whole break,” Webb said. “People were always coming in and out, and if we had snow there was sleigh riding. And there were always games and hot chocolate. We even had bonfires and roasted marshmallows.”
“There were Christmas plays at church,” Webb continued. “Choirs, and local school bands had concerts going on, not to mention basketball tournaments. And there used to be a Santa that would come to your house and visit sometimes, before bringing the gifts. The gifts were the highlight, of course.”
“When I was really young, I got a lot of horse stuff and cowboy stuff,” she said. “And a little air rifle. As I got older, I still got horse stuff for Christmas and rifles and other hunting gear. Things relating to the outdoors, and possibly an animal like a calf or something. That’s still the sort of things I get for Christmas,” Webb laughed.
The main thing about her Christmas memories, she said, was remembering the reason for the season, the celebration of the birth of Christ. And on the heels of those memories was the fact that everyone came together during Christmas to share the love of the season together.
“I guess what I miss the most is people having more time to enjoy the season, and the reason for it,” Webb said. “I think now we are a little too rushed. And being rushed, you lose the connectivity with the people in your community. A lot of people have to travel now,” she said. “And you have more kids that have to split time between parents.”
“People live farther away and spend more time on the road,” Webb said, acknowledging that sometimes logistics plays a large part in the reduced amount of times family and friends can spend together during the holidays, and even other times of the year.
“But it has also become more of a time for a ‘mini’ vacation rather than a time to spend with family and reflect.”
But she still sees communities and individuals coming together in their own way.
“I like to see communities come together,” Webb said of the current Christmas season observances. “I have been in Ashland, Greenup, and Grayson,” she said. “We have a had a great time decorating trees and the sense of community has been great.”
Webb also said that the holiday brings out peoples’ innate sense of civility, and people try their best to be nice to one another.
“Especially after COVID, I think we all need to get out and reconnect with our neighbors,” Webb said. “We need to interact on a more personal and interactive level. I think that makes us not only a better society, but better people.”
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
