The Tree

For the first six years of my life, the Christmas tree appeared on Christmas morning, completely trimmed, glittering with tinsel, gifts piled beneath it. We had hung our stockings from the mantel over the fireplace the night before. When we woke on Christmas morning, they were lying at the foot of the bed, full of good things. We emptied them there in bed, where we were then served a light breakfast - YES - before we were allowed to go downstairs to see the tree. Then when everyone had assembled, it was down a few steps to the landing, and that breathless moment as we turned the corner to the final steps. From the landing, we could see the tree!

I remember one year when I had some childhood disease - mumps I think. I'm not really sure. I got as far as the landing, took one look, said it was pretty, and went right back up to bed. I just wasn't up to Christmas that year - at least until the next day.

The big feature in those days was the lights. And every year my mother would tell me that when she was a girl there were real candles on the tree. The grown ups would get them all lit, Papa would stand to one side with a bucket of water, and they would be allowed to enter the front parlor, spend a few moments oooing and ahhing, and then the candles would be extinguished. And wasn't I lucky to be able to see the tree lights on all day long?

After my parents were divorced, when I was seven, I was allowed to accompany my mother to the tree lot each year to pick out the perfect tree. "Perfect" never seemed to be as big as the one I wanted. But I did love going to the lot. It smelled so wonderful! We lugged it home and trimmed it together. That was fun! I highly recommend that the whole family trim the tree together. Much better to allow the children to help. After all, Santa has enough to do on Christmas Eve without having to stop to do that at each house.

Two months after Ralph and I were married, we celebrated our first Christmas together. We had bought a star for the top of the tree, and some little accordion shaped, multi-colored ornaments. We added lights, strung popcorn, and hung it with candy canes. By our second Christmas we had added more ornaments, and the following week we brought home our first child and laid her under the tree as the best gift we had ever received.

There has to be some sort of order to the decorating of the tree. Lights must go on first. there should be a white one at the top to go inside the star, if that's what you put on top. I usually put the star on right away. And then I add the angel in front and just below it. I made this angel from plastic canvas. Then popcorn chains - or paper ones, if your child has made them.

The first ornament I always have added for the past forty-some years is the Christmas Dog. Our oldest cut it out of orange construction paper - an unidentifiable shape - and handed it to me as I was trimming the tree when she was very small. She asked me to put it on the tree. How could I have refused? Of course we displayed it proudly and have done so every year since. There's also a yellow construction paper star with a face made of glitter. That one is from my youngest, made in kindergarten class.

Then come the Jesse Tree symbols. These are home made, as are the snow flakes we scattered among the branches, some made by me, some by my sister.


A great many of our ornaments have been home made. They are cloth or paper, crocheted or needle point or ceramic, all mixed in with the more professional glass, wood and metal. Many we bought ourselves, for various occasions. Many were gifts. Souveniers of our travels or of my youngest daughter's travels, representing people and places that we love, many countries and many faiths and cultures. No matter what holidays people observe or what belief they profess, they are all basically the same moral values. Wars are fought over trivial differences. This is the season above all others when we should focus on basic beliefs rather than the different ways in which we choose to express them.

My brother and his wife used single color themes for their trees, different each year. Many trees in Cape May are strictly in the Victorian era theme. I have seen trees trimmed entirely with teddy bears or with sea shells. Our own trees were always sentimental affairs - nostalgic - each ornament as it was re-discovered each year, bringing a happy memory.

There are themes of course. There are a great many Santas. Many angels, birds, lighthouses, even a butterfly or two.

I have at times decorated my tree alone. More often with my mother, my husband, my children, and sometimes with friends of various colors, religions, nationalities and cultural backgrounds. They were sometimes artificial trees, cut trees, or the best kind - live trees that I could plant later. When they had been trimmed they were always a beautiful hodge-podge of color. Nothing sleek or sophisicated or stylish. Just color, warmth and love.