Then and Now: Christmas at The Ledge

There are few things that liven up the holidays more than seeing the The Legislature building in Victoria lit up in Christmas colours. Dad took this shot in 1974.

Here's a Christmas shot of The Ledge I took in 2012.

Tree

This is our family Christmas tree circa 1969. This was a magic tree, every so often a small surprise or gift would suddenly appear on the tree, a clear sign that Santa's snitches elves were nearby and continuing in their observational duties. I'm happy to report that many incarnations later, the Christmas tree in our house continues to have this strange magical property. I'm also happy to report that some of the ornaments you see on this tree have survived into the 21st century and continue their yearly service of brightening up our current tree, and our holiday spirit.

1971 Victoria White Christmas

Yes, Virginia, it sometimes snows in Victoria. This is our back yard after the surprise Christmas morning snowstorm of 1971. Victoria rarely gets a white Christmas; the chance of one happening is only about 11%. There wasn't another one for 20 years. The last one was in 2008 when the entire country had a white Christmas. (And technically, the Blizzard of '96, one of the biggest snowfalls in Canadian history, began on Boxing Day, and so doesn't count as a white Christmas.) The bridge in the photo (Admirals Road over Colquitz Creek) was replaced a number of years ago.

Christmas 1964

Almost two, here's me taking my new friend for a walk down the hall 50 years ago today. Apparently, I walked him down the hall for hours.