Ornaments

Christmas trees have traditionally been decorated with lights and ornaments. I am sure most of us have ornaments that evoke different emotions, or no real emotions. Evoked emotions in a specific ornament may vary by person.  For example, an ornament which has sentimental value to one person may not  conjure any emotions in a person from the same family, or the same household.  We are have different experiences which form our emotions. As we took down our Christmas tree last week, my spouse made a comment that she was wondering what would occur to our ornaments when we pass on. I did not ask if they would survive her downsizing desires. 

Large Bear Ornament

The spouse, or my Land Girl, makes sure the ornaments the boys made when they were young have a prominent place on our tree.  One has some Cheerio's on the ornament, and we had to move it up in case a visiting dog had other ideas for the Cheerio. When Land Girl suggested we move the ornament up, I wondered why a dog would want a 20+ year old Cheerio, but then again some dogs eat stuff that humans find abhorrent. This year we also tended to put soft, or not easily breakable ornaments near the bottom in case a dog tail inadvertently knocked an ornament. 

Potato

We also have ornaments that were owned by our parents, and probably grandparents. These mainly glass balls lose their color overtime, but they are actually add a certain elan to the tree. These ornaments can bring back family memories of Christmas times long past. 

Old Ornament from my parents

Ornaments come in a variety of types, although glass, wood and now resin seem popular choices. Some are very heavy, which makes me wonder if ornament makers think of the tree on which they will hang. I have never had an artificial tree, so I wondered if artificial trees had stronger branches, but when I still worked a fake tree was set up in the building and I determined that fake tree branches were not very strong. Although I suppose some may have better wire. Certainly, some branches on a real tree may not be very strong due to how new they are--perhaps only that growing season depending upon how the real tree may have been pruned. The heavy ornaments are then placed on strong branches, generally to the inside, although some lower branches near, but not at, the outside may work. 

Glass ornament with watermelon ornament behind

This year we were fortunate to have a volunteer tree which had grown up in what was once an old farm field and cut down by the county for a prairie restoration project. This tree provided plenty of area for ornaments to hang, yes hang, a rather novel idea on some tightly packed and sheered trees.  I think of the white or Scotch pine trees, which many years ago were a staple at the Christmas tree lot, but have little room for hanging ornaments. When I was a child, you went to a lot to get a tree, there were no known cut-your-own places.  I call those long-needled trees that are tightly sheered toilet brush trees.  I suppose they are faster growing, which made them ideal for tree lots. Our tree was a white spruce rather different from the Balsam Fir we normally acquire. The nice thing about the volunteer tree was that it held almost all of our ornaments. Except for a couple boxes of Disney character ornaments, which are heavy and have not used for years, all of ornament collection was able to fit on the tree this year.  

Another old ornament

We have a few really large ornaments--a bear, a big Santa Claus, and a large clear pine cone. The tree this year was great in finding spaces for these large ornaments. While a Christmas Tree may look Charlie Brown like, when it is decorated it can become magical. Think of what Linus did at the end of "Charlie Brown's Christmas" special. Even the tree for which Charlie Brown was so mocked became special and led the Peanut gang to sing "Hark the Herald Angels Sing." 

Our 2021 Christmas Tree

Of course, some ornaments evoke where we have been, or experiences we have shared. Perhaps the most telling ornament on our tree is one of St Mark's Church in Venice. We were on our honeymoon to Italy, visiting Rome, Florence, Venice, and Milan. This year, 2020, will mark our 32nd wedding anniversary. We also have baby boots of the year each of two children were born. Our camper ornament conjures memories of camping trips, whether in the camper (2019 to present) or prior years in a tent. 

Ornament of St Mark's Cathedral in Venice

My wife has made some ornaments, including small cross-stitched stocking ornaments, which are nice and light and can hang from any branch. These have special meaning due to her hard work. Our youngest son made us a wood ornament, turned on a lathe, as part of our Christmas present this year. So we have ornaments he made over 20 years ago in pre-school, or perhaps kindergarten, which was a Christmas Tree cutout with glitter, to one this year being a well turned wood ornament. His wood working ability and attention to detail are amazing. 

Cross Stitched ornament

Glass ornaments tend to be lighter weight, so can be near the outside, but we do like to hang a good number of glass round ball ornaments to the inside of the tree to reflect the lights.  When I put lights on the tree I work from the trunk out, and that is how I do ornaments.  The lights and ornaments inside enhance the visual depth and color to the inside of the tree. I never understood that it was unusual to put lights to the inside of a tree until a discussion one Christmas with some of my sister-in-laws. As usual, the Hovels were the somewhat odd ducks, at least in their minds. 

Pine Cone

With a Christmas tree, some ornaments are religious in nature. We have a small "nativity" set of ornaments, of Mary holding the baby Jesus, Joseph, the three kings, and an angel.  My wife bought this German made set many years ago, and she is the one, more by circumstance than by tradition, who places them on the tree. These ornaments have to be the best packed we have as they came in their own lightweight wooden box with shredded paper. 

Mary and baby Jesus

Some of our favorite ornaments, some were gifts, and others purchased or given to us. What do our favorites include? First, there are sea shells which seem odd to hang on a Christmas Tree, but sea shells often symbolize birth, good fortune and resurrection. Second, we also like colored glass pine cones in varied colors. Pine cones fit the motif of an evergreen tree. These pine cones even have glitter on them to make them sparkle more. The pine cones, like the sea shells appear very fragile, but I am the one that tends to hang them since they generally go to the top of the tree. I use the step stool (used to be a chair) and reach the top. I have no doubt that I am chosen to place them on the tree since I am very careful, so careful that at times I used it as my middle name. I stopped using it as my middle name when in January 2020 I fell through ice on a skating rink in McFarland, which you can read about here. Hence, I really no longer say my middle name is Careful, because I do not wish to be jinxed. There are many other ornaments that we like, and the Land Girl makes sure to put the Old World Christmas ornaments together in a few smaller boxes. Third, are the icicles, and many of the crystal ornaments.

Sea Shell

Then of course is my collection of fruit and vegetable ornaments. My mom's favorite ornament was a peach, and while I do not know what happened to that ornament, perhaps a sibling has it, I am not sure if it informed my fruit and vegetable collection. I tend to think it was my liking for food. The collection includes chili pepper, pickle (supposed to be two), eggplant, potato, corn, and a few others. I think it appropriate that food ornaments be part of a Christmas tree. Food is an essential for living, and the whole purpose of an evergreen is to provide greenery during the dark months of winter. Our tree, probably a white spruce, even sprouted new growth this year. There is a small hedgehog ornament we have, which I gave Land Girl one year. I am not sure why she likes hedgehogs, perhaps she thinks they are cute.

Corn, with some other, including pine cones
and hedgehog behind the corn cob

I suspect a few ornaments the boys like that they would like to keep. We have a wood toboggan ornament and while rather heavy, was able to hang on a lower outer branch of this years tree. Sometimes we lay it on a branch so to better spread its weight, and mimic going down hill. I have always liked to toboggan. I rather think my youngest son will not be taking that ornament. One winter, when the boys were young we loaded the toboggan on the van and headed to Lake Kegonsa State Park.  There is a nice large hill that had a nice sled run at the time, it seems narrower now, but we trudged up the hill with my youngest son in front, the oldest son in the middle and me, who did the pushing to get great speed in back.  We were really moving and at the bottom of the hill when the youngest son falls right over the front of the toboggan and the toboggan with two persons runs right over him. As we approached him, he seemed alright, but blamed his brother for having pushed him off. I was more interested in controlling the device and looking ahead, so I did not see what happened. Needless to say, I wanted to do more tobogganing, but that incident put an end to tobogganing that season. 

Toboggan ornament

Christmas tree ornaments can bring a series of emotions. Often they invoke a nostalgia for times past and make one think back to their childhood. In the end, we really don't know at this point what will happen to the ornaments. The kids may decide to take some, and the rest given to other family members or to a second hand store. While always a possibility, the wife could channel her inner Marie Kondo and selectively cull the ornament herd. If the ornaments find a happy home, I hope they will spark as much joy for others as they have for us.