Oh Christmas Tree!

[jimnyc]

Even though we have a 6 or 7 or 8 foot fake tree and a million ornaments and lights, this year I couldn't help but grab this little bugger that was outside the supermarket! I love a live tree, even if they are a pain and a mess. And even with a few bald spots, it's size and all, it's got personality! It's a little Charlie Brown tree, only bigger!

And as you will see below, I got to add some ornaments and a few things before the wife makes it nicer today. I have a few "horrornaments" on there and a few new ones on the way tomorrow! I like a "special" tree! The manger and other nice things will be under the tree and spread about the room. And every year it's a fun fight with Nero who likes to steal them and hide them!!

Let's keep this meme and other tree free - and everyone post their trees this year if they can!!

Here's my little guy:



Raven and skulls ornament:



Snowman:



Skull:



And the 3 new Steelers ornaments that get here tomorrow:



Jerome Bettis:



Big Ben Roethlisberger:

[Abbey Marie]

Great thread idea!

We're buying ours today. I’ll post a pic when it’s decorated. Guaranteed no horror, though.

[jimnyc]

Great thread idea!

We're buying ours today. I’ll post a pic when its decorated. Guaranteed no horror, though.

I love seeing decorated trees! And any of us can go to google and post the best we can find, but I'd rather a thread about our actual trees at home and how we decorate them, however differently!

[Abbey Marie]

Finished decorating it on Friday. We do it in red and gold every year.

D4544A07-C73A-4831-9D90-8FBC4BD0D8A1.jpeg

[High_Plains_Drifter]

I've all but given up on Christmas.

Christmas to me now is only a reason to go visit with what little family I have left near me.

My mother will be 91 the day after Christmas, and after she's passed, I really won't have any reason at all for Christmas.

[Abbey Marie]

I've all but given up on Christmas.

Christmas to me now is only a reason to go visit with what little family I have left near me.

My mother will be 91 the day after Christmas, and after she's passed, I really won't have any reason at all for Christmas.

I think it’s easy to feel that way about these kinds of holidays, especially if you live alone. You have to make an effort when you least feel like it. Honestly at this stage of my life and sketchy health, it is mostly our daughter driving the train. But I do decorate with her according to my “ vision”, and I really enjoy it once it’s done.

You didn’t ask for advice, but I’m giving it anyway, haha. Go to a cozy church late on Christmas Eve. It might give you hope and some joy. Ours ends with Silent Night while everyone holds a burning candle. It’s magical.

[Abbey Marie]

Some more tree photos out there?

[High_Plains_Drifter]

I think it’s easy to feel that way about these kinds of holidays, especially if you live alone. You have to make an effort when you least feel like it. Honestly at this stage of my life and sketchy health, it is mostly our daughter driving the train. But I do decorate with her according to my “ vision”, and I really enjoy it once it’s done.

You didn’t ask for advice, but I’m giving it anyway, haha. Go to a cozy church late on Christmas Eve. It might give you hope and some joy. Ours ends with Silent Night while everyone holds a burning candle. It’s magical.

I always like your comments, Abbey... the thing is, yes, Christmas was a such a magical time when I was younger. The tree, the presents, the joy, the going to relatives houses for a big meal and visit with relatives, it was so much fun and I have such fond memories, but that's been over for a long time now. Everyone has moved far away, they all have their own families now and no one wants big get togethers anymore. It's too hard and everyone is too far away. So... it just dies off. The magic is gone.

But then there's thing that the day Christ was born isn't in the Bible. It doesn't say Christ was born on December 25th. There's really no actual proof of when he was born. I get the idea that people like to just pick a day and say, ok, we'll we don't know but we'll celebrate on this day anyway, and that's ok. I have no problem with that. But the Santa thing irks me too. SANTA - SATAN... move a couple letters around whow... you have a fat man dressed in red, and the Satan is often pictured as red, that rides around the world in a magic sleigh with flying reign deer and is magically able to enter any and all houses on earth... IDK... Christmas and tree and Santa is all derived from a Pagan holiday... I'm just not down with it nowadays...

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-une...as-traditions/

I guess I'm the board SCROOGE.

[Kathianne]

I divided up all my Christmas things, including 4 trees to my two Christian kids. Remember I do have 1 Jewish child, though his father isn't. LOL!

I miss my 'things,' but do enjoy seeing them in their new homes with new family. This year I'm staying in AZ and it's going to be a bit lonely, though I'm looking forward to some quiet. My roommate is heading to Boston to see her siblings for the first time in like 3 years.

I nearly bought a tree this year, but giving some thought to moving to FL and don't need extra things to move.

I'll go to Midnight Mass and make a 'freezer to oven' boneless turkey breast. Yep, I'll make dressing, cranberries, and potatoes/gravy. Probably pecan pie. I'll talk to the kiddies in the morning, then laz the day away.

[Abbey Marie]

Hi

I always like your comments, Abbey... the thing is, yes, Christmas was a such a magical time when I was younger. The tree, the presents, the joy, the going to relatives houses for a big meal and visit with relatives, it was so much fun and I have such fond memories, but that's been over for a long time now. Everyone has moved far away, they all have their own families now and no one wants big get togethers anymore. It's too hard and everyone is too far away. So... it just dies off. The magic is gone.

But then there's thing that the day Christ was born isn't in the Bible. It doesn't say Christ was born on December 25th. There's really no actual proof of when he was born. I get the idea that people like to just pick a day and say, ok, we'll we don't know but we'll celebrate on this day anyway, and that's ok. I have no problem with that. But the Santa thing irks me too. SANTA - SATAN... move a couple letters around whow... you have a fat man dressed in red, and the Satan is often pictured as red, that rides around the world in a magic sleigh with flying reign deer and is magically able to enter any and all houses on earth... IDK... Christmas and tree and Santa is all derived from a Pagan holiday... I'm just not down with it nowadays...

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-une...as-traditions/

I guess I'm the board SCROOGE.

Thank you, Tom.
There are probably more Scrooges in the woodwork here. It’s just so common these days to feel down all year, exacerbated by the holidays. I wish I had a big family to celebrate with, but it’s going to just be us 3 and two young friends. And the likelihood of our daughter expanding our family any time soon are slim and none. Sigh.

I know that December 25th is kind of arbitrary, but I don’t care. As long as we celebrate His birth, the exact date isn’t important. I am glad it is in the winter though. The tree looks best when it’s cold outside, IMO.
As for the pagan stuff, I mostly ignore it. Atheists love to point out the pagan roots of Christmas, but that’s just not relevant once we started to celebrate it as Christ’s birth. I won’t let it affect my day. Focusing on the good is always the right play.

[Abbey Marie]

Btw, is the pic of my tree cut off? When I posted it, it was the whole pic.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Hi

Thank you, Tom.
There are probably more Scrooges in the woodwork here. It’s just so common these days to feel down all year, exacerbated by the holidays. I wish I had a big family to celebrate with, but it’s going to just be us 3 and two young friends. And the likelihood of our daughter expanding our family any time soon are slim and none. Sigh.

I know that December 25th is kind of arbitrary, but I don’t care. As long as we celebrate His birth, the exact date isn’t important. I am glad it is in the winter though. The tree looks best when it’s cold outside, IMO.
As for the pagan stuff, I mostly ignore it. Atheists love to point out the pagan roots of Christmas, but that’s just not relevant once we started to celebrate it as Christ’s birth. I won’t let it affect my day. Focusing on the good is always the right play.

I hear ya Abs... I wish I could share in the exuberance and joy of Christmas like I used to. But... it's not to be. The only family I have left around here somewhat close to me is my little sister and Ma. We used to exchange gifts and do our level best at making Christmas as fun as it used to be, but even my little sis this year said no more gift thing. It's just such a pain. No one ever knows what to buy or how much money to spend, and it just spins Ma out now at 91 years old.

I believe in Christ, and believe he was crucified, and I believe he rose from the dead, because he was the son of God. But then... he IS God. They're one and the same. Jesus was a manifestation of God himself. To me those are the important facts. I can celebrate that every day, not just on one.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Looks like it's going to be almost warm here for Christmas, in the 40's, and no snow. Fine with me when I have to drive a 140 mile round trip.

December is usually the snowiest month in Wisconsin, but we haven't gotten squat so far, and it doesn't look like much is going to happen right up to the end of the year.

I couldn't care less if we had a winter where I never had to get the JD out of the shop to blow snow. There was one year when I only had to twice. Dustings and an inch or even two, I just drive over.

Almost to the shortest day of the year, the 21st, and I haven't suffered any SAD this at all. I can't help but wonder why, and I think it might have something to do with my gym... IDK.

[jimnyc]

Was reading some Christmas stuff and one linked to this page. May be boring but it's informative. But reminds me of what it is all truly about, and brings about childhood memories, at least the other stories did.

Christmas was much different growing up than it is today. But it doesn't necessarily have to be. I know the fat bastard isn't real, but what IS real is what I felt growing up, and what Santa does in fact bring to so many of us yearly. All the great music seemed to always been playing somewhere. Everywhere seemed to be decorated. I remember driving around with Mom and places were just littered with lights! Not so much anymore, at least not here in my area if NY. But it was also the one time of year that as a kid we didn't mind getting dressed up. And even as a kid, we felt the difference in the attitude in the air, and the friendliness and Christmas spirit going around. And it was like a domino effect and it really made that Christmas and New Year the best time of the year.

I'm still striving to bring out that feeling but it's just never the same. But I wonder how it is for the kids? For us adults, we start losing loved ones and friends, and I think that plays a part in the change. Not to mention change in scenery and places changing.

I still love Christmas though!! I still love getting gifts for folks, even if small. I still love all the decorations and what not, even if it's changed and I pop on some weird decorations around the tree and house too.

Hopefully everyone else can find that spirit too! Hate me or love me, left or leaving, coming or going and all that other jazz - we all made it to this current point at least! I do hope you all have a wonderful and Merriest of Christmases and hope for a great New Year! Even if you hate me, that's what the holiday is about to an extent. At least for me.

What is Christmas and When Did it Start?

Christmas is the annual Christian festival celebrating Christ's birth, held on December 25 in the Western Church. The traditional date of December 25 goes back as far as A.D. 273. Two pagan festivals honoring the sun were also celebrated on that day and it is possible that December 25 was chosen to counteract the influence of paganism. To this day some people feel uncomfortable with Christmas because they think it is somehow tainted by the pagan festivals held on that day. But Christians have long believed that the gospel not only transcends culture, it also transforms it. In A.D. 320 one theologian answered this criticism by noting, “We hold this day holy, not like the pagans because of the birth of the sun, but because of him who made it.”

The Dates of Christmas
Why do we celebrate on December 25th?

There are two specific theories for why we use the date of December 25th for Christmas.

First, people and religions of the day celebrated some sort of holiday around that time. From Jewish Chanukah to Pagan Winter Solstice to Germanic Yule to Roman Dies Natalis Solis Invicti (Birth of the Unconquered Sun); the sheer number of celebration days with trees, decorations, yule logs, mistletoe and feasts seem to point to a season of celebration to which Christians added the birth of Jesus as a counter-cultural event and possibly even an escape from the pagan holidays for early believers.

December 25th was the Saturnalia Festival of emancipation, gift giving and the triumph of light after the longest night. The Christian sees the truth implicit in this pagan tradition that reflects: Christ the Light of the world, His triumph over the night of sin in Luke 1:78-79:

"...Because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven 79 to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

The second theory centers around the date “accepted” by the Western Church of March 25 as the Annunciation or Immaculate Conception of Jesus in Mary’s womb. December 25 is 9 months later and thus celebrated as the birthday of Jesus. Regardless of the possible reasons for the date, the church calendar was set in the West during Constantine’s reign while the Eastern Church held onto the date of January 6 for some time.

The Origin of Christmas Eve
For centuries, Christmas was celebrated not as a single day, but as a whole season in parts of the world, beginning with this day, December 24, Christmas Eve. Perhaps the practice of celebrating the evening before the big day is an echo from ancient Jewish reckoning. Among earlier Jews, a day began at six in the evening and ran until six the following evening. Had not Moses written: "An evening and a morning were the first day"?

Christmas means "Christ-mass." Although the date is a guess, the tradition of observing it goes back to at least the fourth century. Under the influence of the church, Christian traditions replaced pagan solstice festivals throughout Europe. Often the more innocent pagan practices (such as bringing in a Yule log, decorating with holly and the like) were carried over into the Christmas observance, transfigured with new meaning.

The Christian Meaning Behind Ancient Traditions
Evergreen Trees were the symbol of eternal life. Martin Luther introduced them to the Reformation Church as a picture of our endless life in Christ, by bringing in a tree to his family on Christmas Eve lit with candles (Isaiah 60:13).

Candles are a picture that Christ is the Light of the world (John 8).

Holly speaks of the thorns in His crown (Matthew 27:29).

Red is a color of Christmas that speaks of Christ's blood and death.

Gifts are a reminder of the gifts of the Magi to baby Jesus. Each of them speak to a component of His incarnation: Majesty in life, Bitterest Agony in Death and He as God's Perfect gift to us (Matthew 2).

More Holiday Traditions
The Yule Log was a symbol by which all the men in the family would carry a log large enough to burn for 12 days into the house. They were identifying with Christ and His Cross. The fire was started with a fragment from the previous years [this refers to the eternal existence of Christ before His birth] log. It speaks of warmth, unity, joy and the security of endless life.

Mistletoe was an ancient symbol from the Roman times. It was under mistletoe that old enmities and broken friendship were restored. So Christ was the One who took away the enmity and gave us peace with God (Romans 5:1; Romans 8:1).

Bells are associated with ringing out news. Christ is the good news, the best news of all.

Modern Traditions
In 1822, Clement Moore wrote a poem for children that has never been forgotten. It was entitled, "Twas the Night before Christmas..."!

Santa Claus is a Dutch word that is actually Sinter Claus, Saint Nicholas, in English.

Saint Nicholas was the supposed early Bishop of a church in Asia Minor [the modern country of Turkey]. He became aware of some desperate needs in his congregation, and a family having to sell their children into slavery, so one night he came and left money on their doorstep. It was gold in a stocking.

Rest - https://www.crosswalk.com/special-co...nd-origin.html




















'Ol Chuck and his tree have nothing on my pathetic little Charlie Brown tree!!

[jimnyc]

Btw, is the pic of my tree cut off? When I posted it, it was the whole pic.

Your pic looks great! Sometimes when you only see the top half of an image, it just failed to fully load. It's there now. Sometimes a quick reload of the page and there it will be!