NO CHRISTMAS TREE?

December 22, 2007 Blog

It has been more than 15 years since we had a Christmas tree in our home. Friends say that they can't envision Christmas without a tree. My sister asked if we had religious convictions about this tradition.  No, we have no special reason but somehow manage to celebrate the birth of Christ without a tree.

Christmas was originally so natural with real twinkling stars, fresh hay, smelly animals and shepherds. Today, everything is so artificial.

In my last blog, I wrote about all our stuff. I just can't warm up to the idea of more artificial stuff. We have electric lights on the trees in our yard, but they are all white. Multi-colored lights are pretty, but  they remind me more of commercial neon lights than of candles or stars in the sky. And all these blow-up snowmen and Santas that populate our neighborhood are in my opinion, tasteless! I warn visitors to this site on the opening page, that I am opinionated and not always politically correct!

We lived in Austria for nearly four decades and always had a real tree. In America, most people have artificial trees. We had real candles on our tree, but in America these are considered hazardous and forbidden.

Actually, electric lights are more dangerous. Candles burn only half an hour when people are watching on Christmas eve and again on Christmas day. The tree is freshly cut and the mostly edible decorations of candy, gingerbread and fruit are not flammable. A bucket of water is always nearby but seldom needed.

There are many Christmas tree fires in America because the lights are left on for hours when no one is around. When plastic ornaments burn, they also produce poisonous gasses that can kill.

After our second son graduated from college in America, he returned to Austria where he was born.  He rented an apartment near us, and we decided to celebrate Christmas with him. He had no money for decorations, so we gave him our tree trimmings. He soon married and started a family, so for the next ten years, we either celebrated with them or with our children in America.

In 2002, we returned to America and bought a small retirement home. There is hardly room for all our stuff and we don't know where to put a tree. So we just decorate with a nativity my sister gave us, a ceramic tree inherited from my mother, a hundred Christmas cards from friends and relatives and artistic decorations of my wife. We have lit trees in the yard and wreaths on our doors and the fence.

So, that is why we have no Christmas tree.

Have a joyous and blessed Christmas with or without a tree!