Your Christmas Trimmings, What Do They Mean?

Your Christmas Trimmings, What Do They Mean?

As you prepare to decorate your home, is it just decorations scattered about to fit the theme?
Is the articles you use from Xmas past that have meaning and reflection?

Mother  Louise Pentico made some beautiful beaded ornaments one year and we split them amongst the five children for them to have for their future. Mother Dorothy Jones also made articles for the family to  have for future Christmas cheer.

Our children made ornaments in school and brought them home, egg carton hangings, hand prints, finger paintings, etc.

Reading the comments from distant family brought a rush of confusion to my mind.  Even the year we were not going to be home, we put up a branch and a string of lights and a few bulbs so the children would have a tree of sorts until we got to our Xmas destination. We played our normal carols and made our normal holiday treats.

Have we so lost the meaning of Christmas season that we lost sight of reinforcing the past and promoting the future.

Oh, most of the family did not then nor now like FruitCake or MinceMeat Pie.  I like both if made with the really old real recipes where junk is not added to replace things that cost more to use.  The idea that Mincemeat in a jar is mincemeat is beyond thinking.  It is only ground fruits, there is no meat of any kind.  Many Fruits used in a fruit cake were hard to come by and were a luxury to garner and use to share with family and friends. Fortunately, in early years nut trees tended to be a staple on the farm or home ground that the family could use.  Sometimes they were traded for other ingredients.  Suspecting this was a reason for community sharing time, to bake and share and prepare so no one did without.

After 50 + years of marriage, I suspect I could have a themed small tree for a few years not repeating the ornaments very often.

So tell me, do you run out and get all new trinkets and put on the tree and the mantel for display?
Having seen an attractive tree in Sears many years ago, I actually bought the bulbs to make a mini copy in my home.  Family was startled by the colors and they were given away that winter for someone else to enjoy.

Having ornaments from my Mothers' Mom Inez Hoffman and trinkets made by Grandma Jones Norris,
those are the things that make Christmas memorable for me.  Sis sent me a special bulb one year and it goes up each year.

So is your tree and decorating a time of memories or just fluff to fill the space while the  holiday is passing?

Do you struggle to make Divinity or Fudge or Peanut Brittle? What about cut out cookies and morning breads for company?

One year when Ed and Don were small we made and pulled Taffy. Oh, was that ever an adventure and we never did it again. Taffy pulling needs at least five people to not be fatigued.  Dad had duty and so we were killing time for his return home. It definitely filled the time.

By the way I do have a real MinceMeat Recipe with meat in it. It was shared by my cousin, since I stopped getting the meat to make it, I could not remember all the ingredients.  We used to make it in the fall to use and give away for Xmas when I was a preteen and teen.

So is Christmas season such a chore you can't enjoy it or does everyone pitch in and help and share?
For all my family and friends, near and far, I hope it is a time of remembrance and caring and sharing.