DECEMBER 23RD

It all started nearly sixty years ago, when we lived in Ann Arbor and I listened to Bud Guest's radio program on WJR out of Detroit. Each year as Christmas approached, Bud told us about his family's tradition of trimming the Christmas tree on December 23rd. Theirs was a grand occasion, for family, friends, and neighbors. The magic and joy that came through his radio show found a way to my heart. And several years later, when our little family was settled into a big house--old and not at all grand, but definitely a family house--we established our own tradition of trimming the tree on December 23rd.

The reason for December 23rd? A couple of things. First, we avoided Christmas Eve, when many families had big dinners or went to church programs. Second, we waited till close to Christmas Day so that the live tree would be healthy throughout the twelve days of Christmas, from December 26th through January 6th (also known as Twelfth Night or Epiphany).

Our first time we had only two guests, but later, when we moved to the country and had a  rambling farmhouse--also an old house and still not grand--we introduced more friends to our tradition.

We began the evening with food, always a good start. The menu ran something like this:

--Beef Fondue--little chunks of tenderloin speared on the fondue forks and cooked in bubbling oil

--Cheese Fondue--chunks of French bread speared on the forks and dipped in a pot of piping hot cheese sauce (made with gruyere cheese and white wine)

--Green Salad--served with homemade oil and vinegar dressing

--Red and White Wine, sparkling grape juice

After dinner, we adjourned to the living room. The men went out to haul in the tree, usually a seven- or eight-footer (we had ten-foot ceilings in those days). And then the fun began!

No matter how carefully the decorations for the tree had been stored away the year before, there was always a string of something or other in a mess--often it was gilded walnut shell halves, glued back together over a long string holding twenty or more shells. Sometimes it was the lights that managed to get themselves tangled up. While guests worked out the details, I played carols on the upright piano so we could sing as we worked.

Eventually the tree was decorated! We celebrated that feat with a tray of baked goods one of the guests brought each year--Christmas cookies he baked himself, along with slices of his fruit cake that had been started around Thanksgiving and fed brandy off and on ever since. Some guests continued with wine. Others drank the coffee pot dry. 

Gifts were exchanged--everything from handmade needlework to the latest big book, or maybe a little excellent book. We were an eclectic group, but everyone was interested in reading and learning and talking about ideas.

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Like many traditions, the tree-trimming party changed as the years passed. Our children grew up, married, had their own children. The group dynamics changed rapidly. Eventually there wasn't room in my home for that many people, especially if we were going to bring in a big tree and decorate it. And then each of the children had a home and small children, and each young family wanted to establish its own traditions. 

I still honor December 23rd, and I still think of it as Tree-Trimming Day. For several years I've had an artificial tree because it was what I could handle on my own. As the years pass, my tree grows smaller, and this year my daughter and I will lightly decorate two tiny pencil trees, each about 30 inches tall. The magic is there, no matter the size of the tree(s).

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What is important about traditions? Lots of answers to that one. For me, a tradition links me to something in my earlier life that had deep meaning for me.

Decorating a tree or two brings back memories of tree-trimming dinners with friends whom I no longer see.

When I listen to Handel's Messiah from some choral group around the world, I recall singing with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Choir; we performed Messiah every other year.

If the weather cooperates this year, I'll go to church on Christmas Day and hear again the age-old stories, sing the familiar carols, and greet friends I've not seen much during our years of pandemic. And I'll feel again the joy of making music when I was church organist at three small congregations in my county.

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Do you have Christmas traditions? I hope you do. I hope you continue to enjoy them even though our global village is suffering through a number of problems. 

And I wish every one of you a Happy Christmas, and a healthy and happy new year.

Blessings,

Thursday's Child