Christmas Trees
-Written 12-11-96
As I sit here, contemplating the decorating of my tree, I think of past Christmases, and what the Christmas tree has meant to me.
As a child at home, our tree had a prominent place in the living room. On the afternoon of the 24th of December, Dad would go into our woods to get a Christmas tree. It was never as perfect as Mother would like it to be, so the process of remaking it was started. Branch after branch was bored in until it was as near perfect as any tree could be. This was important to her, even though the needles of the bored in branches fell off first.
Every year, the same procedure was followed. The empty tree was placed in the living room. After church and the Children's Service that evening, "Santa Claus" would come and decorate it after the children were sent to bed. This continued until one year, we decided to peek through the floor register and watch Santa. To our surprise, it was not Santa at all who decorated the tree, as we had believed, but Mother and Dad, who were doing it. No doubt they were tired enough already from all the other preparations that day.
At that time, our tree was decorated with cherries, two on a wire, homemade cookies, and candles, plus a few other trimmings that had been collected over the years. After Christmas vacation, when we went back to school again, we were allowed to pick one thing off the tree to put in our lunch pail. With at least five us in school at one time, it didn't take long before the tree was empty enough to dismantle and throw out.
Mother never changed her feeling about having a perfect tree. When we lived in town, we had the chance to go out to our farm and pick a tree. Our farm had now been planted into a tree farm, and trees were readily available. Spruce trees were always plentiful, and they were shaped quite perfectly, but it had to be a balsam, and they were harder to find. However, after it was put up, it was almost perfect, as usual.
In my home on 7th Avenue, I follow the same practices when it comes to putting up my tree. I still cut my own, -at the farm. By now, I have too many decorations to put them all on. I no longer use candles, as they are unsafe. But it still looks very nice after it is all trimmed.
Last year, for the first time, I had an artificial tree. Now it is always a perfect shape, and I don't have to search the woods anymore. My tree isn't up yet, but this year I have 15 new snowflakes that I can put on, as I just finished crocheting, starching, and pinning them. To make them look more real, I added some sparkle. So after I tussle with the lights, I will enjoy the rest of the decorating. It will be pretty, as usual.
Picture : Martha and tree
Picture : Gingerbread Man tree trim
Picture : Other Trimming
Picture : Bird House, crochet,and"Stille Nacht" trim
Picture: Village
