Yule love those Christmas trees

Finding the best Christmas tree can be a holiday experience, good or bad.

Such was the case years ago when my parents would visit poorly lit tree lots at night seeking the perfect tree. Unfortunately, the best trees, such as Scotch Pines, Balsam Fir or Norwegian Spruce, were beyond my dad’s budget then.

So we would cart home a good ol’ Douglas Fir tied with twine atop our used ‘48 Chevy. Usually, the selected growth had “a bad spot.” But lacking enough branches on one section was OK because, as Mom and Dad would observe, the somewhat unsightly side could be placed in the corner of a wall. See, no problem!

Then came the truly fun part: placing decorations. First rule: untangle the strings of lights. Back in those days, when lights were wired in series, one loose bulb would be enough to cause the whole strand to go dark. It would require an hours-long task to find the bad bulb. But compare that to past centuries, when Christmas trees were lit by candles, not electric lights.

Anyway, each light had to be attached to a branch so as to be “just right.” Then came the addition of bulbs, extremely light and fragile. It was guaranteed that if one was dropped it would shatter on the floor. Sigh. So much for the holiday spirit. But that was OK because ... because we had a tree, and we were decorating it together so that gifts would be placed later.

We always had light bulbs that looked like cones. I wanted bubbling lights, but Dad put his foot down (on broken bulbs) and said, “No.” Or a similar word.

Placing the round holiday bulbs and other decorations was a trying task. You see, Christmas bulbs were traditionally fragile because they were primarily made of thin, blown glass. But once the decorations were all carefully placed came the stand-back-and-observe situation. That usually resulted in some light bulbs or their companions being located. All right, all good. Not.

Because next came the addition of silver tinsel. Most folks would spend a lot of time draping the stuff. Not me. My technique was to stand about four feet away from the tree and toss the tinsel. Wherever it landed, mostly on the tree, was fine by me. Oh well, so I was naughty, and my mom had to relocate some clumps. She still loved me.

Now at my somewhat advanced age I realize that the memories are all good. Maybe a little fuzzy. And I have come to know that the origin of the Christmas tree goes back several centuries.

In Christianity, the evergreen tree symbolizes the birth and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The tree’s branches and bushes, symbolic of Christ’s crown of thorns, represent immortality. Other symbols associated with Yule trees include:

  A star representing the star that guided the three wise men to Jesus. My parents didn’t think it funny that I called them the three wise guys. Then there are angels representing the angels who announced Christ’s birth. There are many such notations about lights and decorations.

For now, just sit and watch your decorated Christmas tree as it beautifies your home, and to be a reminder of an oft-used phrase, “Keep Christ in Christmas.”