I Love Christmas
It's that time of the year, my friends. A time of joy and singing and prayer and good food and the congeniality of family and loved ones. It's also time for an annual family tradition in my house: the battle over trimming the Christmas tree. I have discovered through the years that there are as many ways to decorate a Christmas tree as there are people. My family is no exception. We seem to enjoy a good fight as everyone jumps in to rally on their favorite sides: the tinsel throwers vs the tinsel hangers; the multi-colored vs the mono-colored; the angel on the top vs the star on the top; blinking lights vs non-blinking lights; paper chains vs popcorn and cranberries. You get my drift.
It's rousing good fun as we all shout and criticize and question each other's taste and necessity for eyeglasses. Cousin Joe loves to load the tree with so many ornaments that not a pine needle can be seen. Niece Janet prefers the balls to be all the same color, and no other ornaments at all. My elderly Aunt Martha has a thing for glittery garlands and hates tinsel. Her sister, elderly Aunt Sylvie, hates garlands and loves tinsel.
As the eggnog flows, the voices get louder until no one is listening to anyone and the tree is assaulted. But it's all good fun and at the end of the chaotic evening the poor Yule spruce is finally dressed for the holiday, all flashy and shiny and blinking (or not) with a star or an angel on top (it gets switched quite a bit), a little lopsided and asymmetrical, but we are proud of ourselves (except for Uncle Al who is passed out on the sofa) as we all stand back to admire our handiwork.
A sense of satisfaction descends upon us all …. until my nephew Eddie brings up the question of what to put UNDER the tree. Voices rise again and opinions fly as sides are taken once more. Snow vs a skirt; a village scene vs a nativity scene; an electric train vs reindeer and sleighs.
As the siege begins anew, I slip away into the kitchen to help myself to some more eggnog. I'll soon be joining Uncle Al on the sofa.
