Yule is coming. I really do enjoy Yule and Christmas traditions both. I put up our tree and got it decorated last Saturday. It's a darling little 5" tree. A nice shape and only a slight bare spot that is facing the wall of course. The tree is my favorite decoration. The lights at night make me happy. In the morning when it's still dark outside, they give me a little joy to start my day. A tree is a non-negotiable part of the December holidays, and I am a big proponent of a real tree.
Way to get in the spirit, Goat!
I remember as a little kid, my dad would come home one winter night with a real tree. He'd never tell us when, so it was always a surprise. It was an exciting night because it meant that Santa was soon to visit. We needed to decorate that tree fast so he'd have a place for the presents. We had those really big almost oval shaped lights. We had bubble lights, too. We also had an array of ornaments old and new and many from my mom's students. Mom and Dad always gave us a keepsake ornament as well.
Thankfully, this was never part of our family tradition even when we got an artificial tree.
As a child, my grandfather considered being a tree farmer up in the Flathead region. My dad grew up outside of Whitefish on a farm and the family owned a dairy for a long time. There are tree farms in the Flathead area. I've driven past them a a number of times. Ultimately, Grandpa derided it wasn't profitable enough for him to invest, so he opted out. I was sad when decided against it. I thought it'd be the best thing ever to go visit and help with the Christmas trees. I totally would have helped sell them on a lot here in Great Falls. Alas! It was not to be.
Yeah. It was like that.
When my husband and I had our first few Christmases together, we used to go tree hunting with his mom and brother. I loved it. Sometimes it was cold, sometimes it was terribly snowy, sometimes I feared the car was going to get stuck or slide off the road, but there was hot cider or cocoa to warm us. We took sleds, too. It always ended with us in a place called The Lazy Doe. Good food and warm; usually filled with other tree hunters or skiers. When my husband and I were diagnosed with our respective autoimmune issues, the trip became harder and harder. It also became later and later in the month. Then he started traveling a lot with his work, so the tradition stopped. I started getting a tree at a lot usually in the first week of December. Then I started getting it right after Thanksgiving so I could put it up while I was still on holiday from school.
I don't know who thought real candles on a tree that dries out significantly was a good idea. Even if the trees of old were not up in early December, it's just a bad idea all around.
Bringing evergreens or trees into the home has a long tradition from Saturnalia to the upside down trees in Poland to our own modern practice of lighting trees at civic locations and famous locations like Rockefeller Plaza. Pagan practices with evergreens are not uncommon. The concept of bringing the greens inside to give the fae somewhere to hide until the holiday or somewhere for a nisse to receive his porridge. Vikings loved and honored their evergreens, and Celtic Druids used evergreens in their temples at Solstice. That's why I was surprised to see a post about how as a pagan this woman was against cutting a tree down to put in her home. Personally, I have no problem whatsoever bringing a tree into the house pagan or not. It's my favorite part of decorating my house in winter. It's little bit of light during the dark time of the year. I never considered not having one when I first started down the pagan path, and I never will.
OK, Moose. Point taken. If there's an evergreen shortage of course I'll concede.
Hope you find a good one.
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