Decorating for Christmas

When I was a child, we always had a freshly cut tree, usually bought at the grocery store.  I still cherish memories of decorating the family tree together, and I miss the fresh cut smell that filled the house.  

When my husband and I married, we lived in a trailer house, and there was no room for a tree.  The first real Christmas tree, with ornaments of our own, was in our apartment near the military base, where my husband served in the Air Force.  Year by year, our collection of ornaments grew, and we added many on trips, bringing home ornaments as souvenirs.  As our holiday collection increased, we got bigger trees, and eventually we decorated more than one tree.  When we lived in large cities, I loved shopping in stores the day after Christmas, when decorations were marked down in price.  Gradually our holiday collections expanded.

I love decorating for holidays--Halloween, Thanksgiving, Easter--but Christmas is the best.  This year we have three full-size trees and one rather large tabletop tree, as well as decorations on every surface I can find!  My husband suggested that I be satisfied with two trees this year, but I insisted on a third tree, and this year, it is the Oz tree.  When we lived in other states, we were often asked jokingly if we knew Dorothy, or if we had been in a tornado.  Most people did not know much about Kansas, but they knew about the Wizard of Oz.  

Just for fun, I set Scare Crow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, and Dorothy near the tree to share the holiday with us. 

For a few days we will be sharing our home with not only the Oz characters but also angels and snowmen and Santa Clauses and characters from the Nutcracker, and best of all, with friends and family.  

Best wishes and happy holidays!

The Holiday Season

Winter Memories from the 1940s

Did you know that there are at least 17 holidays during this season?  In fact, historians have found winter celebrations as far back as 3000 BCE.  Some of the early celebrations have disappeared while new ones have appeared since ancient times.  Some are related to religious beliefs, while others honor various  traditions.  Faiths and traditions vary from country to country, and while some may be celebrated primarily in a particular location, others are celebrated around the world.

Since ancient time the Winter Solstice has been recognized by many cultures, and traditions from those ancient times have influenced later cultures.  The astronomical occurrence was celebrated as a return of the sun.  The Romans wintertime celebration was called the Saturnalia, a 7-day celebration at the midpoint of the winter season.  In early Europe there was a holiday known as the Yule festival.  Iranians celebrate Yalda, one of the most ancient Persian festivals. 

Today, there are many celebrations in December and early January.  On December 5, Muslims celebrate Ashura.  On that same day in Germany and Eastern Europe, Krampus Nacht is celebrated, with a devil-like character that scares bad children and rewards good children the next day.  St. Nicholas Day on December 6 recognizes a Christian bishop who sold all of his possessions to give to the needy, and people in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg remember him by giving gifts on that day.  On December 8 Buddhists celebrate Bodhi Day by performing kind acts.

 In the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand there was Boxing day, when gifts were placed in boxes and given to the poor the day after Christmas, although today it is more of a holiday for sports and shopping.  To honor African American culture, Kwanzaa is celebrated from December 26 through January first, a relatively new holiday celebration that originated at California State University and has spread.  Three Kings Day is celebrated on January 6, believed to be the day when the three kings first saw baby Jesus.  It is also the end of the 12 Days of Christmas.

Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate Christmas on January 7, which is Christmas Day on the Julian calendar, and on January 11, Hindus in Northern India celebrate the passing of the winter solstice.

American Jews use the Soli-lunar calendar, which means that the months begin on the new moon, to calculate their traditional days of celebration.  This year Hanukkah falls on December 7 through December 15.

There are other holiday seasons celebrated around the world that I have not included in this summary of winter holidays.  As I am sure you have noticed, many of our Christmas traditions are adapted from other nations, and in America today, there are many winter holidays, both religious and secular.  It is increasingly common to hear Happy Holidays ringing out to respect the multicultural nation that America is today.

Around the world surely most people wish for peace.  Can we not find ways to suppress cruelty and greed without war.  And, in the greatest nation in the world, can we not remember the words of Abraham Lincoln, who said, "The people - the people are the rightful masters of both congress and courts - not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert it."

Yes, it is Special!

Christmas Day?

Last week I posted what I called "a special Christmas" blog, but one reader inquired on face book why I thought it was a special blog post for Christmas.  Here's my answer, and I consider it such an important Christmas reminder that I am keeping this week's post short to encourage readers to scroll down and read last week's post!

Christmas is a time when families often come together, young and old.  Because my father had inherited the family home built by his grandmother and his father, our home was the family gathering place, and I have wonderful memories of aunts, uncles, and cousins filling our home for the holidays.

How I wish that my memory contained all the family history shared during those holiday gatherings!  Last week's blog, which I hope you will scroll down to read if you missed it earlier, shares the importance of teaching young people their history--family and American.  I am fortunate that my mother chose a genealogy book with blank spaces to fill in family history as a shower gift for me when my husband and I married, and because of her unusual gift, I asked questions in order to fill in the spaces in that book.  (By the way, that was a wonderful gift for a young couple merging two families by their marriage.)  Yet, I wish my memory still contained all the family stories shared over the many holiday gatherings of my youth.

I suspect the picture above was taken on Christmas day when I was the little girl on the left and my cousin Anne was the taller girl with the hooded jacket.  The picture was taken in front of our farm house on an obviously cold day.  Anne's doll might have been a Christmas gift.  (The doll still had both shoes--and it seemed like doll shoes were often lost quickly.)  I appear to be holding something small that I cannot identify, and my guess is that we were told to select a favorite Christmas gift and to go outside to pose together.  Unfortunately, that is one of those family memories that I no longer remember. 

I hope all of you are having a wonderful winter holiday season, reminiscing and creating new memories!