Do you yearn for a Christmas with less commercial pizazz? Do you long for the Christmas of yesteryear, something simpler? As I was shelling out some big bucks for our perfect Christmas tree, something in my gut was reaching up and saying.....this isn't right. Now, I will be the first to admit I love Christmas.......the trees, the tunes, the lights. In fact, when we bought our house 10 years ago and realized I could put an 11' tree in the front room, I've been pestering my wife every Christmas since to move the tree to the front room where I have more height to fill.
While the evils of a commercialized Christmas are well understood (and sadly, accepted), I am really quite amazed at the evolution of the Christmas tree. How did we get to the point of needing the "perfect tree"? How is it we describe trees a little sparse in the bough department "Charlie Brown trees"? Did that show create a shift to the perfect tree? Remember the glorious 15' tree that Chevy Chase literally pulled out of the woods?
As I flipped through some old family photos from the early 1950's, then through some early Christmases I can remember, I realized there has been a tremendous evolution of the Christmas tree. I'm wondering if next year we settle on a small 5' scotch pine. Although I have no idea where we'd put the ornaments.....maybe on the 11'r?
2 comments:
We have homagenized (sp?) everything! Christmas trees have not escaped the standardization craze. I can recall turning the bad spot to the wall or into the corner so that one really good side showed. Tinsel would cover a lot of "flaws" and shoot those holes could be filled with those big round ornaments that had the long pointed tales, now the trees are so full that ornaments don't hang they lay on the tree and what is with those people who have the tree down and on the curb the day after Christmas????
I'm putting the tree out for winter protection for the birds this year and next year it's my mission to pay the absolute least for the worse possible looking tree!
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