Christmas Comes but Once a Year...

M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S

&

H A P P Y N E W Y E A R

Yes, I'm a wee bit late in getting out my Christmas greetings to all the lovely people who stop by to read my blog. I've been missing-in-action since I finished work on Christmas Eve, and am now taking a well-earned (albiet not long enough) 2-week break. All phones have been silenced. The only contact I have with the outside world is via the internet. Luckily it is far too HOT to leave the house: Perfect reading weather, and I plan to use it wisely.

SJ and I decided to have a Christmas tree for the first time this year; in previous years we have always been away from home at Christmas and therefore never saw the point in having one, but this year, for the first time, we woke Christmas morning in our own home. It was so nice to have it lit-up during the evenings leading up to Christmas Day; it is such a pretty tree, and I look forward to having it up again next Christmas. It is a small fibre-optic tree, adorned with a few small gold baubles for good luck (originating from the Witch Ball), and sits in front of the un-used fireplace in the living room, which made a great storage place for presents.

SJ & I werent the only ones to put up our first Christmas tree this year: Another family we know had always had a giant "singing Santa" in lieu of a tree, but were continuously told by people that their 5-year-old son was missing out by not having a Christmas tree. So, this year they went out and got a tree to stand alongside giant Santa. This got me thinking about Christmas traditions, and why we seem to need them to have Christmas spirit. I remember as children my siblings and I always looked forward to December as it meant the Christmas tree would come out of storage and we'd all stand around decorating it. It was an exciting time because when the tree was up in meant Christmas Day was just around the corner, and we'd begin to count the number of sleeps until it arrived. In hindsight I dont think it would have mattered if it was a tree, or a giant singing Santa, or something else entirely; whatever the symbolism used, Christmas would still have been an exciting time, as it usually is for children.

As it is Summer in this part of the world during Christmastime, most Christmas trees are artificial. A real tree would simply not survive until Christmas Day: the heat would make it shed its leaves and branches quickly, leaving a rather shabby sight come Christmas morning. As such, there are no Christmas tree farms, and our tree came packed in a box from a department store. The history of the Christmas tree is a fascinating one, and I have always assumed that anyone celebrating Christmas would have a tree of some kind. Do you have a Christmas tree, or is there some other tradition in your household?