A Christmas Tree Ornament Tradition
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The holiday season is upon us! A time of merriment and joy and….stuff. And more and more… and more, stuff. Every year I have grand aspirations of not buying the stuff, but that never actually seems to happen. We seem to accumulate things from everywhere, things that we buy, things that other people buy for us and also some things that just magically appear. While I’m not sure I’ll ever fully be able to extricate myself from all the “stuff,” we have one tradition that has managed to escape the onslaught - and that is our Christmas tree ornament tradition.
We have been collecting our ornaments over many years and many travels. Every year we select an ornament whenever we go on vacation. Regardless of whether or not there are actually “ornaments” to be purchased. We sometimes have to just make do with something that hangs and looks vaguely ornament-like. But they all fulfill the same purpose - the documenting of a moment in time.
Our tree is a medley of random but loved objects, some glass, some paper, some wood, some not even real ornaments - but a menagerie of memories. We don’t buy ornaments otherwise, so our collection is almost completely made up of these mementos. Each year, when we unwrap these ornaments with our girls to decorate the tree, we get to briefly relive those memories - sharing stories of our trips and reminiscing about our adventures. Some stories our girls love hearing and some they love telling. It’s in these moments that we truly get to experience the joy and merriment that the season is about. In these moments we get to stop and be still, acknowledging the passing of time, and giving thanks for all the prior moments that have brought us to this one. And these are the “things” that we hope to pass down to them. The appreciation for the small things, the soulful things. This is one tradition that I have to give all the credit to my husband for, as he insisted on this many many years ago, and I am so happy he did. The tree is a reminder of how we aspire to celebrate the holidays and our lives - filled not with stuff, but rather with meaning and memories.
By Kim Berry