This is my beloved little table-top tree. This understandably raises a few questions, so let me answer them, here: No, I don't celebrate Christmas. Yes, I'm Jewish. Yes, this tree may have been the subject of a few minor disagreements in my household.
I know, I know, it's a little odd. But I love Christmas trees. I always used to envy my friends who had them growing up. They're beautiful and festive and each ornament carries its own story, and they smell wonderful (when they're real, anyway, which this little guy is) and make the whole month feel like a celebration.
They also, true to their pagan roots, are a light held up against the encroaching dark. In these, the shortest days of the year, when the sun makes the briefest of appearances, and the whole world is brown and bare and covered in snow, and spring seems like nothing more than a dream, the evergreen tree helps us to hold back the long, dark hopelessness of winter.
So, I hope the same for all of you, no matter which holiday you celebrate or which religion, if any, has your faith: may you find some light to hold back the darkness. May you have hope and joy and peace this holiday season.
I'll be off this week and next, and back for IWSG (and visiting all of your blogs!) on January 8th.
That is a pretty tree! And I love your sentiment. Nothing odd about having one, either. I hope 2014 is a wonderful year for you! (Lookingforward to your IWSG post, too...)
ReplyDeleteDiana at About Myself By Myself
Thanks so much - you, too!!
DeleteYeah, gotta love the lights and tradition of the yuletide. :))
ReplyDeleteI do - I don't want to take the tree down!!
DeleteJoy and peace to you. Christmas trees are lovely beacons.
ReplyDeleteThank you, and to you, too!
DeleteIt is about light and the collective lighting of those lights. It makes me feel good. Oddly I was raised catholic and never associated trees and decorations in any religious context. It is just that these things just happened together.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many people feel the same... that the tree and the religious aspects of the holiday are separate? Maybe more than I think...that might help my end of the argument ;)
DeleteI also love Christmas trees. There's something so warm about them. Although granted, we're in the middle of summer here in South Africa. :-D
ReplyDeleteLOL. I was thinking about that! The sentiment seems to work better for the Northern Hemisphere, doesn't it??
DeleteChristmas trees are the best! I hate taking mine down, the lights are so pretty when the house is all dark.
ReplyDeleteI know! Mine's still up - I really do need to take it down...
DeleteBeautiful words and a beautiful little tree. Hope your holiday was awesome!
ReplyDeleteThank you, it was! I hope yours was, too!
DeleteThat's really nifty. ^_^ We had a big ol' tree at the family gathering, tons of lights, which kind of suits my family sometimes. And I'm agnostic/spiritualist, so I don't celebrate this as a religious holiday, but I do love Christmas.
ReplyDeleteThat's the best part, I think - you don't have to believe in anything specific to enjoy the lights and the trees :)
DeleteThis is such a pretty tree and a wonderful sentiment! Happy New Year to you, Liz!
ReplyDeleteThank you! You, too!
Delete"I never thought it was such a bad little tree." Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteAw, Charlie Brown! I love it :) Happy New Year!
DeleteI love the look of Christmas Trees.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year. Enjoy your break.
Thank you! Happy New Year to you, too!
DeleteChristmas trees are amazing. Happy holidays.
ReplyDeletewww.modernworld4.blogspot.com
Thanks, Gina :) You too!
DeleteI always try to go to a real Jewish Seder dinner during Passover, and not the Christian versions. Sooo much more tradition is honored. I like your little tree and your reason for having it. And as you reminded us, definitely has pagan "roots." So who's to say what we can and cannot borrow from other faiths?
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you and may your little light shine in 2014! Do Jews celebrate New Year? ;) Great to know you.
M.L. Swift, Writer: The Best is Yet to Come
Hmm, that kind of makes me want to go to a Christian seder - I've never been, and I'm curious! My family might not understand why I don't show up for ours, though ;)
DeleteYes, we do! Well, technically, we CAN celebrate it as a secular holiday - as long as it's not religious (I think in some countries it has Christian overtones), it's perfectly fine. So some very religious Jews might not celebrate it, but in this day and age most American Jews do celebrate the New Year. The Jewish New year is in the fall (September, usually), so that's technically the 'real' new year, but most of us tend to celebrate both!
Love that you include that symbolism in your home!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I love it, too :)
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