by Guest Author, the Green Granny
There was nothing more exciting than the sights and the sounds as well as the smells and busyness of the holidays as a young child . Waiting for all the festivities to begin was a true test of patience.
Preparation for the celebration of Christmas would begin right after Thanksgiving. The making of paper chains from red and green construction paper, candy canes that were rolled and folded and colored with a red crayon on white construction paper, popcorn strung on thread, coloring pages dotted with sugar crystals for a glittering effect, and everything from wreaths to Christmas trees glued with cotton balls and foil stars seem to add to the joy of the season.
My mother would create her own potpourri by placing tangerine rinds on top of the gas stove in the kitchen and the aroma would waft into every room. Holiday songs played on the kitchen radio while mom cooked and prepared all the yummy foods for all of the family to enjoy.
Dad would go out two weeks before the holiday to a nearby farm to pick out the nicest little tree. He would carry it in the cold weather through the cold hallway up to the first floor and set it up right in the parlor in front of the large picture window for all of us inside as well as outside to see.
As my father put the large red and green lights on as well as the bubble lights, my mother and I would decide on which branches were the best to hold the balls, icicles and paper chains while my brother would wait until we were done to literally throw on the tinsel.
One particular decoration that I dearly loved was and still is, the traditional purple ball. It is flocked with a design of Santa in his sleigh packed with toys while his reindeer pull the sleigh right around the purple ball. I am not quite so sure why I treasure this ornament the most of all the lovely things I have ever placed upon a Christmas tree. But it has taken its place of honor not only on my parents' tree during the forties until the early eighties, but on our family tree for my children to decorate throughout the nineties.
It is so special that it doesn't get tucked away with the other holiday decor but is wrapped very carefully and placed in a box and put away on top of the shelf in a closet where only I can find it year after year.
When it is time for it to make its appearance as the grand and only purple ball that has lasted this long without even a chip or scratch, it is with total silence and careful, steady hands that it is placed on the sturdiest tree branch for another season.
As the lights get plugged in and the holiday songs still play on the radio, I still take in the sights, sounds and smells of another holiday coming, and enjoy looking at the purple ball glistening on top of my Christmas tree. It surely keeps me remembering the many holidays of the past and the simplicity of it all then and how it still should be.
No comments:
Post a Comment