O CHRISTMAS TREE : family stories

The first Christmas I really really remember was a good old fashion one ,somewhere in the beginning of the fifties,on a little farm outside of Birmingham Alabama.(funny thing when I say Birmingham there can be no other).I am talking coal stoves to heat and cook,wells and pumps for water some of the time and that crescent moon box outside.My grandmother and aunt lived in this wilderness and I had to stay with them , this is always a problem for little people who need a lot of attention. The evil of adults and their meaning less rules.My inner Stewie suffered.

Now of course the emphasis was on the food which was right starting with ham , turkey ,corn bread stuffing ,green beans, cranberry sauce ( a favorite,never enough)sweet potatoes and marshmallows, a few cakes the supreme coconut with butter frosting. I am not a winter root pie fan so my aunt made me banana pudding and my grandmother made me lemon meringue pie.I got all dressed up on Christmas eve in cloths made for me by my grand mother (a great regret is that I do not have any of those cloths) to wait for something special to happen.Tiring so my attention and I drifted off.

The next morning a tricycle, Red Flyer wagon,a Roy Rogers outfit with pearl handles and few other gifts of a country unaware of the Korean war was left for me.The one I cling to and has made a part of my traditions along with the tree is a box containing tangerines, pecans and peppermint candy . My Christmas does not start until a few family albums are looked at , carols are song even if I alone .I put out some bright and shiny things. Most of all I have to have tangerines pecans and peppermint stick.I would be lost in the holiday without these things.

A couple asides I sing Christmas song when ever I am down. who would think tangerines were once consider precious

Donna Rosser who has been a great help to me and SlowExposure loves history tradition and loves her family so this post has her tree and details all the ornaments are framed images of her family members. I thought how neat,it looks like her albums exploded across her tree.But I can imagine the fun at her home doing the holidays when people drop in and try to guess who all these friends and family are.Me I love at my heavy silver German ball,well let's just say I kniw that reflection