O Christmas Tree
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree
How lovely are thy branches!
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree
How lovely are thy branches!
Trees of my Childhood
I’m sure, as a child, I loved our Christmas trees because they had colored lights on them and what child doesn’t think twinkling lights are beautiful. However, I really don’t remember being very excited about them. What I do remember isn’t all that pleasant–sharp pricks to the fingers from the branches, itchy angel hair to cover the lights and tinsel sticking to everything but the branches!!
Seriously, you hear people say they long for the old days when times were simpler. They obviously aren’t thinking about Christmas trees.
Since real trees can quickly become a fire hazard, we couldn’t get the tree until a few days before Christmas. We would drive our truck around the farm looking for just the right tree. Since they are called evergreens, one might think they are ALWAYS green in color. That is definitely not the case! When we did find the greenest one, it often had a crooked trunk. After Daddy would cut the tree down with a saw, we’d haul it home. Leaving a trail of leaves, twigs and dirt dragging it from the door to the living room, we’d often find out the lower part of the tree would need trimming with an axe before it would fit in the stand. This involved getting the sticky tree sap on our fingers and clothes and being scratched on the hands, arms and face by the branches.
Then came the decorations. We had large multi-colored lights that got extremely hot, so they had to be covered with angel hair to protect the branches from getting too hot and catching on fire. This did create a nice soft glow but angel hair was made of spun glass and it would often cause cuts to the skin and would make me itch.
We usually didn’t hang many ornaments because Mother said the prettiest tree she ever saw was in Hatton where someone only had lights and tinsel. She explained how they put all of the tinsel on the tree by draping multiple strands over a pencil and then carefully placing them on a branch. These steps were repeated until their tree was covered with precisely placed tinsel.
I imagine their tree was beautiful. However, have you ever worked with that clingly stuff? It has a mind of its own as it sticks to your hair, clothes and anything else it comes into close contact with. We also had to keep our distance from the tree because a human drew the tinsel off the tree like a magnet. Mother never got the tree of her dreams because none of us had the patience to place multiple strands upon a pencil and then transfer it to the tree, but we made the attempt.
Christmas Trees Before Kids
After we were married, not much changed in regards to the Christmas trees, other than the lights. Modern technology allowed for smaller bulbs that didn’t get nearly as hot so angel hair wasn’t required. However, these new lights became easily tangled and, if one light burned out, the entire strand would quit working and it was a tedious task to find the faulty bulb.
My husband and I still drove around the farm looking for the greenest tree. Obviously, by the earliest one I have pictured, we were not always successful in finding a green one.
Also, because of our meager budget, buying beautiful ornaments was out of the question. No big deal though, because what could be more meaningful than popping corn and sewing it together to make garland! Oh yes, the good old days where you got to stick a needle into a kernel of popped corn and hope enough stayed intact to make a pretty little bauble for your strand. You might wonder how much popcorn it takes to make multiple strands. The answer is, TOO MUCH. Much more than I was willing to sew together, anyway.
So, those trees weren’t much to look at either. I do, however, remember one year my husband surprised me by going out and getting a pine tree–a real treat over the cedar that required wearing gloves while decorating it to avoid injuries.
I was beyond amazed when he brought that pine tree home. He explained that it truly was a beautiful tree but was too big for our house so he had just cut the top out of the tree. The result was a very large round tree with only three (well it might have been four) rows of branches, generously spaced far apart from each other! It was the funniest tree we ever had and I’m sad I don’t have a picture of it.
Our Christmas Trees when our Children were Little
I’m not sure where I got the idea that taking the kids to find a tree would be fun. I guess it was because we were actually going to a Christmas tree farm where there would be green trees and maybe I’d started watching Hallmark movies. The main things I remember from those excursions are–If I liked the tree, my husband declared the trunk to be too crooked; If my husband liked the tree, I declared that it was too tall; If the kids liked the tree, it was probably too small. And…everyone was usually too cold to enjoy the hunt.
I do have a picture where the weather seems delightful and I wonder why I don’t remember that day.
The kids never were as excited as I was about decorating the tree and I take responsibility for that. Just like my mother, I wanted the tree to be perfectly decorated so I was probably a bit too bossy and was known to rearrange the ornaments they hung. It took me several years to realize that if they helped, it was much more fun.
When the kids got older, we started buying our trees from the local football team. Usually they were very pretty pine trees, but I do remember one year where those were not even green, and they had all been spray painted green!
Christmas Trees of the Empty Nesters
Now I only put up an artificial tree. They are not nearly as messy and I can put them up as early as I want and leave them up longer without worrying that they will catch fire. Plus, I’ve found out that I’m allergic to cedar!!
Today, my tree looks much different from many years ago. My husband brings in the tree and helps me put it together. Then I fluff out the branches, a task that takes about an hour and makes my back really hurt. Next comes the task of untangling the strands of lights, discarding the ones that don’t work, heading to the store to buy replacement strands (hoping they match the ones I already have) and then putting the lights on the tree. I always go with small twinkling strands of red and strands of white lights (I added the red for the grandkids). I then add red garland and red, silver and white ornaments. I think my trees are much prettier than in years past, but decorating a tree by myself isn’t particularly enjoyable.
Hallmark Christmas Movies or National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation?
After reading this, maybe you understand why I don’t really long for the good old days. I would also much rather watch National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation than any Hallmark Christmas movies. It’s just so relatable. I start laughing as soon as they make their trek to find their tree all the way through the tree catching fire and a squirrel jumping out of the replacement. Just like Mother and Clark, I have always wanted the perfect tree but I’ve learned it can only be perfect if it is surrounded by my family. http://National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation http://Hallmark Christmas movies
O Christmas Tree
Admittedly, I have difficulty relating to the first verse of O Christmas Tree
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree
How lovely are thy branches!
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree
How lovely are thy branches!
But, I get the third verse,
Let us remember in our gift giving and merriment
With our family and friends and loved ones
The real and true meaning of Christmas.
The birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
What are Your Christmas Tree Memories?
Please share your Christmas Tree memories with me and my readers.
I’ve included pictures of my decorations from this year, just in case you think I’m a Scrooge. I’m really not. In fact, I think I’ll go right now and sit in the glow of my tree and watch a Hallmark movie…or I could watch Clark and Cousin Eddie again. Those next door neighbors just crack me up. And the great aunt and her cat. And the jello mold. Snots, the dog. The bubbling sewer drain. I could go on and on!
Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones.
I love reading your thoughts here, Leslie! The only thing I miss about the old age is the smell of the cedar trees when they were freshly cut. I also like the old fashioned bubble lights that my grandmother Davis used to put on her tree. I do miss the Christmas programs on Christmas Eve at Pleasant Grove Church… those were pretty special what’s the funny Christmas play put on by the high school age kids… the singing performances by the groups of younger kids… and of course Santa’s visit to end up the evening… I remember how much fun I had playing Santa for that special evening.
Yes, loved the Christmas Eve programs at church. I’ll never forget Santa (you) giving Harvey an earring so he’d have one for both ears (back in the day where no other guy had an earring) nor would anyone make fun of Harvey. But you got by with it. Miss those times and him.
I perhaps in slight contrast have only good memories of all trees we have decorated including one we purchased from the NC football team. The night before we were to go to the school and pick it up we had a snow and ice storm and all the trees laying in the school yard were covered. I remember Coach Emmons being there when we arrived trying to scrape and shake off the snow but there was no way to get it all off so we picked one out and hauled it home in the pickup. We laid a tarp on the kitchen floor and brought the tree into The house to thaw and melt…what a mess! Then once it was dry enough to stand up we discovered it had a very crooked trunk. Hang on, this gets better- we ended up putting it in a 5 gallon bucket of sand at an angle to get the top pointing straight up and ran a wire around the trunk which was looped through an eye screw we put in the wall behind the tree to hold it in an upright position. Even with all those issues it was beautiful and we actually laughed through the whole experience thinking what a good comedy skit it would make. Ed and I still have a good laugh telling that story as just one of our many Christmas adventures.
What a fun memory! I remember that year too. But, we thawed ours out in the garage. It was hard to pick one out because you had no idea what it really looked like. Merry Christmas to you and Ed!
Loved it, Leslie! Can relate to some you mentioned. Merry Christmas!
Thanks, Carolyn. Merry Christmas to you and Bob!
Bless his heart, my Dad always went out and got our tree…Mom always said he got the ugliest one out there but as kids, we thought it was perfect!
You have to admit now that some of those old cedars off the farms, left a lot to be desired. But, Christmas lights can transform anything! Think of your dad fondly.