A Different Christmas Tree

A DIFFERENT CHRISTMAS TREE THIS YEAR

My belated husband was wonderful in putting up our Christmas tree and trimming it. He had a knack with decorating the house and he wanted to do everything by himself. All he wanted in return was my admiration at his accomplishment. Since his demise a little more than 19 years ago, my children took over the chore of purchasing and trimming the tree for the household. After the holidays, they took on the responsibility of taking it down and discarding it. This worked out for many years, but now I notice their lack of enthusiasm to the task. My children are now at the beginning of their middle years. So this Christmas, I have made a decision as to what kind of tree will grace my small living room. But first, I’ll tell you a little about the trees we had over the years.

In the early years when my sons were little children, the Christmas tree meant so much to the family. I can still see my three boys standing in the living room dressed in their footed pajamas and staring in awe at the tree. The look of surprise and happiness on their faces were worth every ache and pain my late husband and I endured in our frenzied rush to have everything set up after they had gone to bed Christmas Eve. Those were the happiest times. I can still remember coming into the living room to find one of our cats climbing the branches of the tree, and another cat sleeping among the presents under it. One time, we found that the tree had collapsed during the night and was lying horizontally across the living room floor. Many a year, the tree was anchored just to keep it from falling.

Throughout all those years, we either had an artificial tree or a live Fir or Balsam. The trees were always either too tall or wide for the living room. But I would never say anything. I appreciated everything that my boys did for me. The children were so eager and happy to pick out the fullest tree that they could find. Last year, my youngest son and his wife drove out East to a farm where they could select their own tree and chop it down. They then dragged it to where they had to pay for it. That tree was so full. It created a problem just trying to put it into the stand. Then it was time to fill the tree with several sets of lights. Usually one light or another was burned out or the whole set would not work. Sometimes, the sets of lights were all jumbled up. It was a task that preyed on their patience. Still, they managed to finish the job and the tree became a delight to behold.

Another son would help me decorate the tree. All the ornaments and decorations were stored in the attic, because of a lack of space anywhere else in the house. No one in the family was eager to climb the portable stairs to enter the attic. The storage area was a nightmare of cast a way articles and other paraphernalia. Truthfully, it wasn’t easy to get about in the crawl space.

Once the tree was decorated, we would all stare in awe at its beauty. The packages that we had so lovingly wrapped were placed beneath the tree to be shared with one another on Christmas Eve. The lovely lights of the tree would stay on until the wee hours of the morn’ of Christmas Day. All throughout the following week, the tree would be the center of attention, surrounded by visiting relations and friends. This merry making would continue until after New Year's Day.

Usually, the tree stays up until the 6th of January, which is the Epiphany or Little Christmas. Some celebrate it as the time when the three Wise Men finally arrived into Bethlehem bearing gifts to the Christ Child. The following day, the tree would be taken down and discarded. However, that wasn’t the case in my household. The family would be caught up in the humdrum of their busy lives, and the good tree would grace my living room for much longer than necessary. It was the only time the tree would not have any mishaps like being knocked over or the precious ornaments crashing to the floor by an inquisitive cat or child. By then, the tree was simply ignored.

At one time, we had a fully decorated live tree standing in the corner of the living room until the day before Easter Sunday. I’m not kidding! What a mess it was getting that tree out of the house. It took weeks to remove all remnants of the pine needles from my home.

Now it is the present time. Two of my boys still reside with me. The youngest is married to a wonderful girl. My oldest son is also married and has two handsome boys of his own. He has his own house and he is not too far away from us.

So to sum everything up, I kept asking my family to buy a smaller tree, but they never did. This year, I took matters into my own hands. I ordered a fiber optic tree through a catalog order magazine. It is only 6 feet from base to the top of the tree. Most of the slim branches have plastic thin strips at the end. Those strips come alive with dazzling colors from the golden-footed base below. What is most remarkable is that the base holds a 25-watt bulb, yet it is enough to operate the amazing apparatus in the base. The trunk of the tree fits neatly into the middle.

When the tree arrived at the house, it was immediately set up near the living room bay window. I placed it atop a milk crate to give it height. It only took a few minutes to stretch out the limbs and to plug it in. I bought a porcelain angel to top the tree. She’s dressed in white organza and has gold fringe-like wings; and in her hands, she holds a little light. There’s really nothing else to do. An extension cord will be required to light the little lamp that the lovely Angel is holding in her hands. There are a couple of the tiny lights hiding in her garment. That’s it. A beautifully adorned tree skirt will help hide the crate and decorate the base. I may buy a wide wired voile ribbon to lazily drape around the tree, and I’ll decorate it with a few newly purchased ornaments. No one is climbing up into the attic this year. The rest of the decorations are stored elsewhere in the house. They are easily accessible to me.

I know I’m breaking a tradition, but somehow I know this is going to work out. No one is complaining about the change. I believe they will welcome the new tree. The main thing is that we will all be together this Christmas and we will count our Blessings. Happy holidays to all!

December 08, 2002

Footnote:

Truthfully, I bought that Fiber Optic tree to make it easy for all in the household.
Mind you, if I was living by myself, I would be satisfied with a table-sized tree, and yes, it would be real, very real. But most of all, a small tree would present no problem when discarding it. I would just gather it up in plastic or a sheet and dispose of it into the garbage pail. But I wouldn't do that to the kids. A nice sized tree is a big thing for them. I know they are disappointed with the new tree, but what I have now is a bit of a compromise. I guess they realize that having less work setting the tree up outweighs their desire for a gorgeous, huge and full tree that no one wishes to put up in the first place. It's as if they just want a beautiful tree to appear, and then when the holidays are over, they would wish it to disappear just like that.:) And that is the essence of what I was trying to convey in my little story. I would not take back the early years, especially the times when my beloved husband was with us. He was a gem. There was never an argument about when the tree would be set up or the house decorated. He saw to it, and I took it for granted that it would be done.
And so, I'm happy this year with this slim, tidy tree that requires no sets of lights on it, and most importantly, my family now realizes that if I'm happy, they are happy, too.

Note:

I was inspired to write this article when I read Roxxie Christmas entry "A Fiber Optic Christmas"  The story is different, but it relates to the same kind of tree.