By Frances Bryce, December 31, 2020 — A few days before Christmas during my almost daily walk I saw many cars that had Christmas trees on the top and I remembered how my daughter and I, when I was in California, went to get a Christmas tree and we put it in her convertible. At the end of my walk, I saw piles of Christmas trees stacked outside of the market. I thought of my little tree with lights and red bows on top of the bookcase with little boxes wrapped with Christmas wrapping and pretty bows, no present inside, just to capture the feeling of Christmas.
My memory flashed back to a special time in my early childhood when I went with my father to the woods with my father to get a Christmas tree. He carried his saw and rope to tie up the tree as we found one. Our house was very near the woods. We looked for the perfect shape and tall tree, 6 feet or more. We found the tree that seemed to be waiting just for us. I remember how excited I was. Christmas would be just a few days away.
Once the tree was home dad made a tree stand, mom strung the lights. Sometimes my brothers would help with the lights. They were multi-colored and much larger than the ones that we see now. We placed ornaments and hung silver strips that represented icicles on the branches. Sometimes we used an aerosol can, that when sprayed on the tree looked much like snow. To me, that means that we would soon be having Christmas presents and the parents would not put them under the tree. They only got under the tree on Christmas Eve. Now, I have ornaments that I collected when I first got married because Wanamaker’s was there and they had all kinds of ornaments. And then Hallmark had an ornament for each year and I collected those. And I don’t know if they’ll ever get used again unless I get back to California around Christmas.
I don’t recall my parents having a present under the tree. There could have been, but I was only interested in what was mine and to be sure I got some of what I wanted. A few things for each child in our large family of 7, I was pleased when I received clothes that I wanted and a game or two.
My son, in his early ages, always reminded me that he did not want clothes for Christmas. He said later that he knew clothes would be bought for him when he needed them or wanted something special. So, he knew that if he didn’t get clothes, he would have more presents under the tree for things he wanted.
The other thing that happened in my family, I had nuts and things all the time, mixed nuts all around. That was part of your Christmas and oranges and apples. And in a small town, that was what we did. We didn’t string up popcorn and whole cranberries like other people did; I think we ate the popcorn and cranberries.
Fast forward from my walk home, I was happy to see my small tree with the bright lights, the red and white candles, and flowers that my daughter had sent to me for Christmas from my favorite florist. I think that they make the most beautiful arrangement around and I received them earlier that day. The card she sent with the flowers said “Even though we are not in the same place we are always together. It’s not just another day, it’s Christmas.” I placed my pictures on the table of my son, daughter, and her husband as my guests for Christmas dinner. Hope that in 2021 we would enjoy a physical presence, and that’s my Christmas story.