Random observations about Christmas

The world today only slightly resembles the world I remember as a small child. Take the Christmas tree, for instance.

When I was growing up in Roundup, our Christmas tree was real. My last live Christmas tree was when I was a bachelor in Glendive. For all my married life, our trees have been artificial. And there have been several. I know there is less fire danger with a fake tree, and in the long run they are a lot cheaper than a live tree...yet I miss a real tree. For one thing, I liked the smell of the evergreen tree when it arrived in your home. Sure, you had to water it, and you probably didn't want it up for a month to dry out, but I still miss it.

I miss the tinsel that we use to hang on the real trees. You don't dare hang tinsel on a fake tree because you would never get it all off, but on the live trees, the tinsel -- which was the last thing you put on -- transformed the tree into a shimmering piece of holiday art.

I also miss the big lights we used to put on the tree. Now we have hundreds and hundreds of little lights, but I don't think they are as pretty as the big colored lights we used to put on our real trees.

The live trees might not have been as full or perfectly formed as an artificial tree, but I don't think you get the same "Christmasy" feeling with an artificial one.

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If someone was trying to figure you out by looking only at your Christmas ornaments, what would he or she find out about you? Ours clearly tell a story. First, we have two sons. The oldest was born in August 1988 and the second in July 1990. There are ornaments that welcomed and announced the arrival of both of them. 

The spy would also discover that we have traveled throughout the United States and we have souvenir ornaments from many of the places we've visited. 

We also like Grandmas. Actually most of these were purchased by Belinda for her Grandma Frohlich. However, they have been returned to us and now they honor all our Grandmas. I loved my Grandmas and I'm sure Belinda did too. Someday, our grandchildren may see them and think they are in honor of their grandparents. 

There are other tell-tale signs of our life that hang on the tree. For instance, a spy would surely thing we are Minnesota Twins fans. And, actually, we are not. The Twins simply are the closest major league team to us and we've purchased several ornaments when we visited the Metrodome to watch them play. For the record, I like the Yankees, Scott likes the Red Sox and Derek likes the Cubs. But we don't have any of those ornaments...just the Twins. 

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One of the traditions I like at Christmas is going caroling with a group from our church. This year we had 18 carolers, which is enough to nearly fill every square inch of the Mandan Living Center with music. Well, not quite, but it was fun to go down a long hall of rooms and hear the voices of the carolers pass by. First, you might hear a bass voice, then a soprano, then a tenor, next a couple of alto voices. It was pretty cool. 

This year we caroled during the afternoon. And it was a nice afternoon. Not quite shirt-sleeve weather, but certainly not winter-coat weather. 

Over the years, caroling has included different instruments. Some years we've used chimes, other years guitars. Almost every year we have Christmas bells, especially for "Jingle Bells," but this year, all we had was our voices. 

The thing that makes caroling so wonderful is the expressions we see on the faces of the people we sing to. No matter their age or condition, I believe that people are transformed into small children when they start hearing familiar Christmas carols. 

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My favorite part of the Christmas season is probably the candlelight service at church on Christmas Eve. This tradition goes back to my childhood. Once the service was over, we would go home and open presents. That's why I liked it as a child, but I like it as it adult because it stirs emotions inside of me...especially at the end of the service when we are singing "Silent Night" by the light of the candles.