Our Christmon tree will remain up till the end of January. We waited with decorating until the arrival of our son’s family, which was the week of Christmas.
The tree is adorned with crocheted pieces from our wedding 27 years ago. My aunt created patterns to crochet specific Christmon symbols. Every year, my husband reads the meaning of each symbol while a child (young adults now) places the symbol on the tree. It has been a tradition since the children were younger to read aloud the true reason for the Christmas season.
The yearly tradition is completed when one child places the angel on top. This year we were graced with our 11th month old grandson-with the help of his dad and uncle- adding the final touch.
There is something special about a tree and its belongings. An ornament or other significant item representing memorable events, whether good or bad: birth, marriage, or a year’s highlights such as toilet paper and facial masks, but our tree gained an ornament announcing our grandson’s “first Christmas.”
I have not transitioned my tree with Valentine’s decorations, nor do I intend to do so at this time. I prefer to leave it as is in order to focus on the peace and calmness the tree brings with reflection and the Christmas story.
One side note- I took a picture of the tree and the outdoor waving flag and posted the scene on Instagram. At the time of the post, I was not aware of what was taking place outside of my home environment. Later, I learned of the events and thought of the irony of the perfect timing of my thoughts and feelings, “One Nation Under God.”
I hope this past Christmas tree brought you much joy and happiness as it did our family even with the multitude of 2020 hardships.
May you be filled with the jovial anticipation of decorating any tree for any occasion.
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