My friend Becca started a new Monday meme called Give Me Five Monday. The 'Give Me Five' Monday meme is designed to share fun information with each other in a simple short list! Here's how it works. Each week, she will put out a random topic from her list of topics and you share 5 answers of your choice on the given topic and link back to her! You can add photos, links or stories or just a simple list of your own of 5 things that relate to the topic as it pertains to you and your life experiences. It doesn't have to be in any order of importance unless otherwise specified. Go over to BeccA's Buzz and check it out!
This week's topic is all about Christmas trees. I'm late in posting today, because I was working at the insurance agency (I agreed to fill in whenever their administrative assistant couldn't be in the office). I'll also be working there tomorrow and Thursday, so please forgive me if I don't make it to everyone's blogs on those days.
Now, about those Christmas trees...
Since we won't be putting up a Christmas tree this year, because we will be traveling out of state to celebrate Christmas (and because my house is tore apart and there wouldn't be any room for a tree, if I were going to put one up), I'm going to tell you about some my traditions centered around the Christmas tree.
1. When I was growing up, we always put the Christmas trees up the day after Thanksgiving. Yes, I said "trees". We would get one real tree that went in our TV room, and we had a four-foot artificial tree that stood on the table in our living room.
2. My grandma was the one who put the lights on the tree. That was the tradition - Grandma would take a break from her cooking or whatever else she was doing to come in and put the lights on the tree.
3. After Grandma put the lights on the tree, it was time for the ornaments (my favorite part). When I was growing up, there were five ceramic ornaments, which were my favorite ornaments. They were Daffy Duck, a rocking horse, Elmer Fudd, Raggedy Ann, and Andy. It was always tradition that I was the one to put these five particular ornaments on the tree. As a child, I always thought this was the tradition simply because they were my favorite ornaments. When I became an adult and was moving out, my aunt brought me those ornaments and told me they were mine. It was then that I found out my dad had specially ordered those ornaments to be made for me the first Christmas after I had gone to live with my grandparents (when I was 2 years old). Obviously, those are still my favorite ornaments, and NO ONE but me is permitted to hang them on the tree.
4. While my aunt, grandma, and I put the tree up and decorated it, we would have Christmas music playing, and my grandpa would be sitting in his chair helping me pick out which ornaments I should hang next.
5. After the tree was finished, we would turn off all the lights, except for the Christmas tree lights. Then, I would climb into Grandpa's lap, we would look at the tree and look for any empty spaces that needed ornaments. If there were empty spaces, I would run to the tree to lovingly fill that place with an ornament. I would then return to my grandpa's lap for the evening, while we looked at the tree and made up silly words to the Christmas songs.
(c) Misty DawnS
