Approaching the small village of Cawston in North Norfolk in the early 1950s there were two landmarks that were visible from afar: the historical church of St. Agnes and the old mill at Sygate.  The church is still there today and is visited by thousands of people every year but the mill as such has disappeared and is now a holiday home.

It was a few days before Christmas in the 1950s and the many small shops in Cawston were colourfully decorated for the festive season.  Housewives from Eastgate, Sygate and the Woodrow could be seen cycling to Cawston to make their last purchases before Christmas.  All the homes in the village were decorated with garlands, home made decorations, evergreens and most families had a Christmas tree. 

There was, however, one family at Eastgate that was so poor that they could not afford any Christmas decorations.  The two children, four and five years old, spent the pre-Christmas period gazing into other people’s homes admiring the decorations and brightly decorated Christmas trees for they knew their cottage would remain bare over Christmas. 

Christmas in this family was just like any other day of the year with the exception that Santa Claus would bring each child a stocking full of apples that has been picked from a tree in their garden, a handful of nuts that had been gathered on Cawston Heath and a second hand toy that had been purchased from the church summer garden fete.  The only Christmas present bought from the local shops was a bar of chocolate. 

Christmas Eve arrived and all the families in Cawston were making the final preparations for Christmas Day.  For the poor family it was a normal day.  The faces of the two children clearly showed their disappointment as they knew that their expectations would not be fulfilled.  The parents were unhappy and crestfallen as they could not satisfy the wishes of their children. 

Just after breakfast one of the neighbours surprised the poor family by bringing them a home made plum pudding.  A second visitor that morning brought good Christmas cheer to the poor family by giving the children two small presents wrapped in Christmas paper that had clearly been used the previous year. 

An hour later when the family was sitting together sipping a cup of tea, a third surprise arrived when the postman delivered a telegram saying that their cousin Rachel was on her way to Cawston as she did not want to spend Christmas alone.  The family had had no contact with Rachel for years as they believed her to be still living in Germany.  She had married an German ex-serviceman after the war.  To the poor family this was not a pleasant surprise since they themselves were not even in a position to celebrate Christmas. 

Just after lunch a taxi stopped in front of their cottage at Eastgate.  The children rushed to the window and saw a well dressed lady standing there with lots of luggage.  A loud cry of “She can’t stay here, we don’t have room” could be heard in the kitchen when the family saw her and her baggage.  As the taxi drove off the children helped her carry her bags into the house. 

“This is the best tea I have had for years.  Tea in Germany tastes like ferret pee.” She said and they all laughed.  She went on to say how she had had a good life in Germany until her husband died in the summer.  She had now decided to relocate back to England.  Apart from her few bags, which to the poor family appeared to be a lot, her belongings were in storage ready for transportation after she had found a new home.   

“Where are the Christmas decorations?” she enquired and then asked the boy to open one of her bags.  Curiosity turned into excitement when the children saw the bag full of Christmas trimmings, many of which they had never seen before.  As the children went around the room putting up the paper chains, lanterns and ornaments Rachel asked about their Christmas tree.  The second bag was opened containing tree decorations, so Rachel sent off the father of the family with a banknote to the nearest farm.  He was back in a jiffy with a large tree and aromatic evergreens that added to the spirit of Christmas.  The thrill and happiness of the children could not be overseen as they decorated the Christmas tree.   

Rachel then disclosed to the family the content of the two large cardboard boxes.  The mother of the family was sent to the kitchen with the two boxes containing groceries that Rachel had bought on her way to Cawston to prepare the evening meal and was told not to forget to thaw the turkey for the next day. 

There were more surprises to come  The children almost burst with suppressed excitement when Rachel opened another suitcase containing presents for the entire family.  She went on to explain that for the last few years she had celebrated a German Christmas meaning that the “Bescherung”, the giving of presents, takes place on Christmas Eve.  “But the presents can’t be opened until we have eaten together”, she insisted. 

And so it happened that a feast for five people, but enough for ten, was placed on the table and within hours a living room, that had seen better days, was turned into one of the best decorated rooms in the village.  Colourful decorations covered the cracks in the walls, garlands swayed in the draught at the window and Christmas ornaments stood on the mantelpiece and sideboard covering up the scratches.  The grandiose Christmas tree with dozens of bright colourful glass balls of all sizes, gold and silver tinsel, natural wax candles in holders as well as presents wrapped in luxury wrapping paper was the joy and delight of all the family. 

After the children had gone to sleep with their new toys and dolls, Rachel told the family that she had heard of their needs from distant relatives.  Just before going to bed they gazed out of the window and stared at the landscape in Cawston which had a beauty of its own.  Looking out into the garden they saw the bare branches of the trees against the clear blue sky with one twinkling star directly above their cottage and wondered if this had brought Rachel to them.  Rachel said that the charm of a Norfolk Christmas is the contrast between nature in winter and the warmth and light in ones own decorated home, which for this family was the first of many to come.

Michael Yaxley

Bonn, Germany

November 2007

(This story may not be published in any form without the permission of the author or the Cawston Historical Society.  Should any publishing company wish to publish this story it is welcome to do so providing that one free copy of the publication is sent to the author and one copy to the Cawston Historical Society.  It is requested that any royalties resulting from publication are sent to the Cawston Historical Society).