My Christmas tree of memories

Aside from listening to Christmas music, my other big indulgence during the season is the Christmas tree. This is my project that is in production all year through. I see something that would look nice on my tree and I get it. That is even if December is a long way off and I will have to put it away for months.

I got this from my mother. We always had a tree while I was growing up. What it looked like depended on the finances of the time. If it had been a good year, then the tree would be bursting with goodies. If times were hard, then it would be simpler, but still there, standing erect and sparkling.

The trees also depended on the trends. The live pine tree from Baguio with its distinctive scent was the best. But we also went through wire trees with bottle cleaner brushes for leaves, bare tree branches, silver or gold aluminums and then durable, washable plastic trees.

I have given up on having a live pine tree. These are not as abundant here anymore. Then the last one I had died, despite my efforts to keep it alive in a pot. I have settled on the plastic variety but filled with pine scented sachets that keep the room smelling like Christmas for weeks.

Now, we come to the lights. I remember my mother saying that when she was young, they had real lighted candles on the tree. Nice but can you imagine the smoke inhalation and the fire risk.  What I remember from childhood were little colored bumbillas that need to be replaced one by one as they go out. It’s a good thing that Tivoli lights came along.

Tivolis are small lights on thin almost invisible wires that look really nice on the tree and these lights keep getting better and are now available on LED. This is one part of my tree project I really splurge on because defective Christmas lights can cause fires. I have now made the switch to LED. Pricey but better safe, than sorry.

Now, there have been times when I have looked longingly at what I call decorator trees. You know those trees with themed colors and ornaments. Think of a tree of only white and silver or filled with stuffed toys all over or of balls of every color and size. I even saw one in blue hanged with bling from Tiffany’s.

My tree is a decorator’s nightmare. But it is a Christmas tree and what does it mean when we say parang Christmas tree? I stay close to that idea and I fill it with everything. Everything I like and everything that means a lot to me and the family. I think of it as a tree of memories and almost every ornament comes with a story.

I am sorry I was not able to save some of my mother’s fragile ornaments. I would have loved to have one or two of those glass beads on my tree. So, I have started saving my own collection from everywhere. I mean everywhere because I have discovered that Christmas shops are open in most cities around the world every day and I make sure everybody gets me stuff or I buy them myself.

My harvest for this year includes little cowbells from Frankfurt, Santa on a plane from the Kennedy Space Center, a ball from Athens and Nativity pendants from Spain and a small Coca-Cola case with bears on top. Coca-Cola makes nice ornaments and I have a few featuring the white bear and the bulldog, plus miniature bottles with bells that came with an elephant from a conference in Bangkok.

Prices don’t count. I have hand blown finials from Murano and also a Paddington doll in a hat and raincoat that I got for P50 in the tiangge. The same goes for symbols. I have the sacred like wooden nativity scenes from a flea market in Belgium and the profane like a Santa butt that farts Santa Claus is Coming to town.

There are pop figures like Mickey and Minnie Mouse in kimonos and a Mochichi from Tokyo Disneyland. There are the old, like wooden Nutcrackers that must now be 30 years old, younger like Pinocchio from Geppetto’s Workshop and new ones like a Baby Yoda, which arrived last year, ordered from Hallmark.

Hallmark was also where I ordered the Baby’s First Christmas keepsakes. Each of the children gets one when they are born and these are displayed on the tree every year. They come to the house and they see the tree and all the familiar decorations from their childhood.

In a way, the tree spells home. They may wander but come Christmastime, there is that tree, in a place where they will always be welcomed.

Thank you, Christmas tree. Blessed be the Gift of Christmas.