Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Christmas Tree (10/09/08)
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TITLE: The Perfect Christmas Tree | Previous Challenge Entry
By Fred N. Lee
10/16/08 -
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As a lad growing up in the village of Caesar, Mississippi the highlight of the year for me was Christmas. We were poor as a "Church Mouse" my mother would say but there were always presents under the Christmas tree come Christmas morning.
For my mother the highlight of the season was finding the perfect Christmas tree. There were no tree farms to make a selection from and no imitation trees as there are now. It was a tradition at our house that on Christmas Eve, come sleet, snow, rain or hail, Mama would traipse into the woods, find the perfect tree, chop it down, and lug it back to the house where Papa would attach 2 x 4's to the bottom so the tree would stand up straight. Very seldom did the tree stand perfectly straight so we always had to tie strings to the tree and attach them to the walls to make the tree straight.
Mama's preference for a tree was a Holly. For some reason she said that Christ was nailed to a cross that was made of Holly and since Christmas day represented his birthday that a Holly tree was justified. Occasionally a Pine tree or Cedar tree would be used if she couldn't find the perfect Holly tree. This particular Christmas Mama and a gang of kids finally found what she considered the perfect tree-a Pine that had a perfect shape. Cutting the tree down was no chore because Papa always kept the axe sharp. We brought the tree back to the house, toting, not dragging, so there would be no broken limbs.
Papa was ready to attach 2 x 4's when we got back. Carefully sawing off the bottom of the tree for a smooth surface he then attached the 2 x 4's. We stood the tree up in the living room and it was about a foot too tall. "Lay er down, Papa said, and I will cut about a foot off". He then proceeded to take out his Barlow pocketknife and cut about a foot from the top of the tree. So much for the perfect tree!! I might add here that Papa found some place else to be for several hours!
We didn't have all the decorations that are available these days. Usually one string of multicolored lights, a few ice cycles, and a string of popcorn was the decoration. Mama had an angel for the top of the tree and it was Papa's job to put it there. I think the Angel had been handed down for generations to her. After Christmas day the Angel was carefully taken down, boxed up, and stored in a safe place for use the next Christmas. The lights were thrown into a box, stored in the attic to be untangled next Christmas.
As I grow older I yearn more and more for those simpler days. Mama and Papa have gone on into eternity but I hope to see them again one day. No doubt we will get together with the rest of the family and talk over old times. Maybe we will talk about the Perfect Christmas tree incident and get a good laugh out of it!
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