Mimi, you're not feeling sad about taking down your tree, are you? ... But it's warm and comfortable all year round in its little nook tucked away in your home and so it doesn't feel sad, and neither should you.
Cathy, I'm not sentimental about my wee tree, and I believe the tree has no strong feelings one way or another about being tucked away in the closet for a nice long hibernation till next year. I could use a hibernation myself from time to time.
Related subject: the last few years I've noticed a radical change in holiday decorations. Last night, New Year's Eve, I stepped out on the front walk for a minute and observed that not a single light was showing up and down the street, other that streetlamps. Used to be people always left their trees and Xmas lights up and blazing away through New Year's - now it seems they can't wait to tear everything down as soon as they've finished Christmas dinner!
Could this be because the Xmas decorations and music go up in the stores as early as September now?? I mean, driving around on Xmas Eve, I could not find but ONE radio station in the entire DFW metroplex that was playing Christmas music.
Russ, when I was growing up, we put the Christmas tree up a few days before Christmas and left it up till the day after New Year's Day - total time 11 or 12 days. Now the trees are cut probably in mid-November or earlier and shipped to reach the stores before Thanksgiving. What was once a living tree can live only so long once it's cut.
The year we took our tree down, and Tom set it afire (before we were forbidden to burn them), and the tree blew up in flames was the last year I put up a once-live tree. I asked him if he had put kerosene on the tree, and he said no. If the tree had caught fire in the house, the entire tree would have been aflame in two seconds. That scared the hell out of me. The way Christmas decorations are done now seems ridiculous to me, and I won't go along.
I have such good childhood memories of Christmas trees...... My Calvanist father would never put up the tree until Christmas eve. Because he waited until the last moment to buy the tree, it was usually badly shaped. (thee was a reason it hadn't been bought before he got there looking for a bargain) He then set to work to reshape the tree. He would drill a hole where he thought a branch should be and saw off another branch and insert it in the newly drilled hole and this continued until he thought it just right. Then he would call to my mother (in the kitchen trying to cook)to come and be the final judge of the tree shape. This was a yearly tradition, the tree always came down on New Year's day, as does the tree in our home today.
I really understand your fear about old dry wood, Mimi. We had a beautiful but old Victorian house as my kids were growing up. When we had some renovations done, the handy guy burned some wood from the house and it exploded just as you described your used tree. We supplemented the rickety furnace with a wood stove and boy, was I careful after that!
Christmas celebration has changed, but the event celebrated remains....... nij
But they will be away! Just turning around and heading back. Maybe instructions were left with the staff?
ReplyDeletesusan s., my dear friend, you think too much. ;-)
DeleteAnd about the wrong things, I fear.
DeleteAlas...
DeleteThat's the tree at Bethlehem, with a real angel on the top.
ReplyDeleteOrmonde, exactly. It's about the tree in the stable. Or perhaps the family have moved indoors by now.
DeleteMimi, you're not feeling sad about taking down your tree, are you? ... But it's warm and comfortable all year round in its little nook tucked away in your home and so it doesn't feel sad, and neither should you.
ReplyDeleteCathy, I'm not sentimental about my wee tree, and I believe the tree has no strong feelings one way or another about being tucked away in the closet for a nice long hibernation till next year. I could use a hibernation myself from time to time.
DeleteRelated subject: the last few years I've noticed a radical change in holiday decorations. Last night, New Year's Eve, I stepped out on the front walk for a minute and observed that not a single light was showing up and down the street, other that streetlamps. Used to be people always left their trees and Xmas lights up and blazing away through New Year's - now it seems they can't wait to tear everything down as soon as they've finished Christmas dinner!
ReplyDeleteCould this be because the Xmas decorations and music go up in the stores as early as September now?? I mean, driving around on Xmas Eve, I could not find but ONE radio station in the entire DFW metroplex that was playing Christmas music.
Sad, sad, sad.
Russ, when I was growing up, we put the Christmas tree up a few days before Christmas and left it up till the day after New Year's Day - total time 11 or 12 days. Now the trees are cut probably in mid-November or earlier and shipped to reach the stores before Thanksgiving. What was once a living tree can live only so long once it's cut.
DeleteThe year we took our tree down, and Tom set it afire (before we were forbidden to burn them), and the tree blew up in flames was the last year I put up a once-live tree. I asked him if he had put kerosene on the tree, and he said no. If the tree had caught fire in the house, the entire tree would have been aflame in two seconds. That scared the hell out of me. The way Christmas decorations are done now seems ridiculous to me, and I won't go along.
I have such good childhood memories of Christmas trees......
ReplyDeleteMy Calvanist father would never put up the tree until Christmas eve. Because he waited until the last moment to buy the tree, it was usually badly shaped. (thee was a reason it hadn't been bought before he got there looking for a bargain) He then set to work to reshape the tree. He would drill a hole where he thought a branch should be and saw off another branch and insert it in the newly drilled hole and this continued until he thought it just right. Then he would call to my mother (in the kitchen trying to cook)to come and be the final judge of the tree shape. This was a yearly tradition, the tree always came down on New Year's day, as does the tree in our home today.
I really understand your fear about old dry wood, Mimi. We had a beautiful but old Victorian house as my kids were growing up. When we had some renovations done, the handy guy burned some wood from the house and it exploded just as you described your used tree. We supplemented the rickety furnace with a wood stove and boy, was I careful after that!
Christmas celebration has changed, but the event celebrated remains.......
nij
What a Christmas story, Nij. :-)
DeleteI'll never forget the exploding tree.