Oh, Christmas Tree,

O Christmas Tree,

how lovely are your branches!

 

The German Christmas carol expresses the joy of the beautiful evergreens used to deck the halls in homes all over the world at Christmas time. But no matter how lovely the branches are in the natural state, how much lovelier they are when decorated with ornaments, and sparkling with lights.

There is a lot of ceremony associated with the Christmas tree and its decorations, but those traditions vary from family to family. When to get the tree, when to put it up, when to decorate it and how, what ornamentation the tree receives, who puts which decoration where, and a lot of other weighty decisions go into the annual ritual of the tree.

Along with the festive song about the Christmas tree, the Germans are also frequently credited with the custom of hiding a glass pickle ornament in the branches. More than likely, though, it is a game of hide and seek that originated in America during the Civil War era, with its only German connection being that glass ornaments of various foods (including pickles) were created by glass blowers in that country. Wherever the tradition came from, it is one that brings delight to many, as the elusive gherkin is secreted in amongst the other ornaments, awaiting its discovery on Christmas morning by the lucky child who will then get an extra present.

Lois Barber and her family hide a pickle ornament in the tree, and like to relate it to their German heritage. She also incorporates other traditions into the holiday to reflect their Scottish and Italian sides of the family. Her husband cooks the family a big seafood dinner on Christmas Eve, as is often done in Italian homes, and Grandma’s shortbread cookies are always on the Christmas menu at the Barber home.

“I also have a lot of pine trees and hollies growing on my property and make friends swags from the cuttings in my garden,” said Ms Barber. “Something homemade is nice to give.”

After decorating their tree with mostly Scandinavian felt hearts, Vicky and John Truitt like to play the “I Spy” game with their family to spot the ornament being described. “We describe the ornament we are looking at, and then the children get to guess which one it is,” she said.

 Newtown Bee Associate Editor Shannon Hicks has an unusual ornament tradition: She hides a spider ornament in her tree branches, from a tale that she learned from her mother and grandmother.

“Spiders on a Christmas tree have to do with the creation of tinsel,” she explained. “Long ago, spiders were banished from homes when the women of the house would clean their house for Christmas Eve. They would scrub their homes and make sure they got rid of all spider webs. The spiders would have to find another place to live, where their webs wouldn’t be disturbed.

“But one Christmas Eve, when the house was clean and the Christmas tree had been decorated, one of the youngest spiders sneaked back into the house to see the decorated Christmas tree. He was so thrilled with what he saw that he danced all over the tree branches, looking at all the ornaments, which in turn put spider webs all over the tree that the woman of the house had so carefully decorated just a few hours earlier.

 “When the Christ Child — or Santa, depending on the version you find, and this is where the story’s foundations blurs somewhat — arrived to bless the house He was surprised to find the baby spider, but He understood that the spider meant no harm, it was like an excited child. The Christ Child/Santa touches the spider with his finger, blessing the spider and its webs. The webs turn from their billowy state into shiny, sparkling lines, which today we see as tinsel. The baby spider’s blessing is represented by a spider ornament being placed on trees.”

Hiding ornaments, pickle or otherwise, can have its drawbacks, as Karen Pinto has learned. She and husband Mat Kastner have ornaments that are containers.

“Santa hides candy in them. So you have to locate the ornaments on the tree to find the candy. There have been years when I’ve found last year’s candy in an ornament when decorating. It doesn’t taste very good,” said Ms Pinto, “especially if it’s chocolate!”

“We always cut a live tree for Christmas,” said C.H. Booth Young Adult Librarian Margaret Brown. “We decorate it with an eclectic collection of ornaments that we have had for years, with some of the ones that our children made when they were small, as well as heirloom ornaments from our parents, and may unique, handcrafted ornaments. Until a few years ago, I painstakingly hung the old lead icicles that I had saved from year to year. I was the only one in the family who had the patience to hang them one by one. But they were breaking fast, and so I used the last of the good ones on a tree that my daughter and I decorated for Ann’s Place in 2006,” said Ms Brown.

Because they are an interfaith couple, Jill and Gregg Baimel celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas.

“I guess our biggest tradition revolves around the tree ornaments. I’ve amassed quite a few snowman themed ornaments, and we have a growing collection of hand-made-by-the-kids ornaments,” she said. But their most treasured ornaments are the Jewish-themed tree ornaments. “We’re always on the lookout for them and over the years we’ve collected a few,” said Ms Baimel. One is a tiny music box that plays “Hava Nagila,” one is a dreidel, and one a sand dollar painted with a Christmas tree and a menorah.

“I think celebrating both religions has enriched both of our lives,” she said, “and of course our children reap the benefits.”

 “The tree topper doesn’t go on until Christmas Eve,” declared Cathy Swanson. “It’s a little ritual. We even write inside the tree topper who put it up the year before, so there is no fighting among our kids about whose turn it is to put the topper on. And each year, each child gets to pick a new Christmas ornament. We write their name on it, and we pack each child’s ornaments in a separate box when Christmas is over,” she said.

The Christmas tree is always about the Eternal Christ Child and the child within, said Ann Marie Mitchell.

“So it’s either about the ornaments our children have made, or the ornaments I’ve received as a school nurse and as a basic children’s vocal music teacher,” said Ms Mitchell. A Gregorian Chant basic instructor to novices entering The Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, she has also collected several of the stained glass “O Anthiphon” ornaments made at the Abbey.

“Each of them represent different names by which we cal the Christ Child,” Ms Mitchell explained, “such as ‘O Rex’ is for King, ‘O Sepientia’ is for wisdom.”

The other ornaments that Ms Mitchell and husband, Jim, and children Rebecca, Greg and daughter-in-law Amanda place on the tree reflect the way the family plays together. “We have hockey stick, basketball, ice skates, dance, and soccer ornaments,” said Ms Mitchell, “and we have a train that runs under our tree — the child, again.”

From the use of primitive art to a child’s primitive artwork, whether decorated elaborately or minimally, or whether the tree is bedecked before or on Christmas Eve, the tradition of the Christmas tree resonates in a special way for every family.

O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree! How lovely are your branches!