Deck The Halls – Is It Too Early?

It’s 31 days before Christmas. I know because I ask our Goggle Home system several times a week – beginning usually in mid October.

I love Christmas. So much so that for years, I’ve had to make deals with my husband, family, even colleagues on when I can start playing Christmas music at home or work. Used to be November 15^th was the day I could dust off my collection of Christmas CDs and bop to the beat of Boney M’s ‘Mary’s Boy Child’.

As I’ve gotten older, the Christmas launch date has moved up to one month before the Big Day. That means today is officially my kick-off to ‘Rockin’ around the Christmas tree’. 

You get the point. I’m one of those annoying people who embraces all things Christmas long before anyone is gathered at the neighbor’s Christmas party saying, “Pass the eggnog”.  

Yet I do exercise some restraint. Peter and I decorate our house on November 30^th every year. There’s something about waking up on the first day of December with the Christmas tree lights twinkling and the evergreen boughs hanging over the mantle that makes me smile – and never fails to ignite that childhood thrill that stays with me throughout the festive season.

I can almost hear some of you saying, “That is WAY too soon to put up your Christmas tree.” Fair enough. Some English friends of ours don’t decorate until Christmas Eve. This couple thinks I’m crazy. A sentiment only made stronger when they helped us unpack our shipment from Canada and kindly hauled bin after bin marked ‘Christmas’ down the cobble-stoned streets of our new Italian medieval town.

But I argue I fall somewhere in the middle on the crazy scale. This week, I noticed quite a few Facebook friends proudly posting fabulously festive images of their freshly decorated Christmas trees. There were quite a few ‘likes’ but just as many comments suggesting it was better to wait until at least after US Thanksgiving next week.

So when is the right time to get into the holiday spirit and decorate your tree?

The history of the Christmas Tree

We can thank the innovative Germans for introducing the world to the Christmas tree as we know it. Back in the 1600s, small evergreen trees were being decorated with candles, apples, nuts and berries in churches across Germany. They were called ‘paradise trees’ and often used in church plays. These beautiful trees soon became a Christian ritual and over time, found their way into the homes of devout Christians throughout the country. Before long, the tradition of the Tannenbaum had spread across Europe.

Eventually, German immigrants brought the practice of the decorated Christmas tree to America in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. Religious groups weren’t impressed. They found this strange, foreign custom to be somewhat pagan in nature and quickly dismissed it. But groups of German-settlers persisted and the idea caught on – very slowly.

It wasn’t until the early 1840s when Queen Victoria’s German husband, Prince Albert, first decorated a large Christmas tree at Windsor Castle that the tradition became not only respectable but also fashionable.

Of that first Christmas tree, Prince Albert wrote to his father:
“This is the dear Christmas eve on which I have so often listened with impatience for your step, which was to convey us into the gift-room. Today I have two children of my own to make gifts to, who though they know not why, are full of happy wonder at the German Christmas tree and its radiant candles.”

 
That same Christmas, Queen Victoria wrote in her journal, “To think that we have two children now and one who enjoys the sight already (of the Christmas tree); it is like a dream.”

Christmas tree fever spreads across the Atlantic

Soon wealthy Americans started to adopt the tradition they now believed was fit for a Queen. And of course, local businesses caught on.  A new industry in Christmas ornament production was born.

Today, Christmas holiday decor is a multi-billion dollar market.  Simply put, Christmas is good for the economy.

But it’s also good for the soul. Recent research suggests people who get into the festive spirit early are happier. Why? Because it takes us back to childhood. Back to a simpler time when magic was possible and dreams came true.

All it takes is the sound of a familiar Christmas song or the scent of a pine tree to transport us there – to Christmas morning.

The dawn barely breaking, still sleepy eyed we tiptoe closer to the brightly light tree, marveling at the colorfully wrapped presents, excited to see which ones have our name on them. Magic indeed.

In these times of dire news on everything from climate change to implausible politics, for a few weeks every year, the Christmas season reminds us there is good in the world – to slow down and savor, to unpack treasured ornaments that tell a story of our lives, our family, our history.

Decorating – Italian style

So next weekend, a few days after Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, we will bring down the multiple bins marked ‘Christmas’ from the attic of our 600-year old house in our medieval town and we will decorate our tree.

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We will drink rum and coke (the only day of the year I indulge in this combination) and light a fire. I will sing Christmas carols and Peter will put the angel on top of the tree.

And for me, having arrived somewhere in my mid-50s, I will be a child again. I will see my Mom hanging our school-made ornaments on an already fully-loaded branch. My baby brother reaching for that bright, sparkly bauble I know he shouldn’t touch. My Dad adjusting the string of lights so they rest perfectly on each layer of our freshly cut tree.

And it will be pure magic – all over again.

A presto

Anna