Lovely morning, 30 when I got up, but almost 50 now. Sunny and bright. We had a little snow the other day, and sleet, but it only stuck on the deck, vehicles, and the like.
Finally my tree is up and almost finished. The topper is all wonky and crooked so I need to fix that and add a few more balls near the top. I need a bigger tree! Next year, I have promised myself to make that happen. It's pretty bad when your faux tree has bare places from lost needles. I bought this little tree almost 10 years ago, maybe longer ago than that, for five dollars at an auction. It's certainly been a little trouper.
I added a few other smaller trees last year, and have them up too. I'd like to do a few more small trees, decorated with different themes. I have a silver one, and two green, one with all ornaments made or given to me by friends, and one with small vintage ornaments. I'd like one with crocheted snowflakes which I have but am not using this year, one with all cookie cutters, and one with the fabric ornaments made by my friend Suzy who makes a new one every year. I think I have at least 20 of her ornaments now, and love them. The thing is, where would I put all these little trees? A dilemma for another day, since it's not going to happen this year.
Christmas trees. Such memories around them, aren't there? Do you remember the trees of your childhood? Or from your early years of marriage? I need to dig through my photos and find some old pictures of my trees to post. We used to have live trees every year until I realized I was allergic to them; now I can only use live pine boughs outside the house, sadly. But at least I get to enjoy their scent.
The tree has been such an American tradition, we tend to think that they have been part of our celebrations for much longer than they actually have been. Christmas trees didn't really become part of the general celebration of the season in America until the late 1800's, during the Victorian era. There were earlier trees in the homes of German immigrants who brought their tradition of the lichtstock with them, but the decorated tree was a later arrival.
From a Winter Solstice post I wrote in 2018: "In early Germany, plays called Paradise Plays were staged and the stages were lit with wooden pyramid structures on which candles were mounted. These "trees" were called lichtstock. The play also called for a tree hung with fruit as the story of Adam and Eve was part of the play. So an evergreen hung with apples was used for this purpose, and these were called Paradise trees. While people in Germany and other parts of Europe traditionally brought an evergreen branch inside in winter for decoration, the branches were not lit, and they certainly were not full trees. Eventually the evergreens became incorporated into the lichtstock, and it is easy to see how the transition to an evergreen tree happened. So, if you have artificial tree and feel a little guilty about not having the real thing, rest easy--the original "Christmas tree" was a wood pyramid, and not a tree at all!"
One of our funniest memories of a Christmas tree happened about 10 years ago. We went out to find a real tree, and found one on our road. It had snowed about 4", not a lot, the kind of snow that clings to branches and looks so pretty. Larry got the axe and walked over to the tree while I watched. It suddenly occurred to me that when he hit the tree with the axe, the snow was going to come tumbling down. As I opened my mouth to warn him, he struck the first blow. Sure enough, down came the snow, covering him from head to toe. The look on his face as he turned to look at me was priceless. I couldn't say a word. I was doubled over with laughter, tears streaming down my face. We still laugh about that--I'm laughing now just remembering the moment.
Not Larry's tree, but every time I see a snow-covered evergreen, I remember that day.
Memories are really what our trees are about, aren't they? The ornaments, even the light strings, often have stories attached. The tree itself, our memories of finding it, buying it, putting it up--so many memories, and it doesn't matter if it's a real tree or a fake like mine. I love my little stalwart tree, bare though some of its branches be. It's weathered many a storm with us. Some ornaments are older than me, some from my parents' tree, some I made, some my mother made. Two beautiful beaded ones were gifts from a young friend, whose Greek grandmother made them.
I hope your tree plans are going well. I sure wish I could travel to each of your homes to see how you do your tree. Maybe one day, when this pandemic is over and life is something like normal again, we'll be able to get out and about. Until then, I'll enjoy everyone's trees that I see posted online. And be happy knowing we're all still safe and well.
Decorating for Christmas is one of my favorite things to do. I have three trees this year, sometimes I do four. I found a prelit pencil tree at a thrift shop a few years ago & it's become my main tree...my husband loves it because it doesn't take up very much room. I do love it but I want a bigger tree...I can't fit all of my ornaments on it.
ReplyDeleteI have a large 9 foot tree on my screened porch. It has the large bulbs, lots of icicles & my mothers cardinal lights. Then I have a small table top tree in my kitchen.
Isn't it funny how our decorating changes over the years? I like the idea of a pencil tree. I seem to both simplify and expand at the same time. Mostly trees now, a few vintage music boxes, and bowls of ornaments. But this year I added a few Christmas dishes, something I've never had.
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