Once again we are in the seasonal battle of Holiday Tree vs. Christmas Tree. I know that words are important, but do we really have to go through this every year? Some of this gets trumped up simply because the occupant of the oval office decides he needs to get a little more attention. He stated a few weeks ago that there was now a “War on Thanksgiving.” Is that because our indigenous people want to tell more of the truth about that first big sit-down?
Sigh.
Don’t we have better things to think about, much less argue over?
Me, I think whatever. Personally, I think Holiday Tree is more inclusive. That tree in the capitol building may simply be a Hanukkah Bush. It could be a Solstice Shrub. It could be a Hannachrismakwanzakah Hardwood. Who cares? It’s beautiful and often it smells good. The tree in the state capitol and trees around the community are decorated by children. What could be sweeter?
I have a table-top tree at home. It is the top part of a much larger plastic tree that was given to me almost thirty years ago by friends who found out that we didn’t have a tree at home. Truly, part of that no-tree Christmas was because we were leaving town for the holidays and didn’t want to leave behind a fire hazard. The other part was that the budget was really tight and a live tree was not the best use of the cash we had. To the rescue came friends. I still use that tree even though now we could afford something “better” and I think about these friends every time I put it up.
I don’t want this to be yet another rant on the commercialization of the holidays. They are whatever each individual makes them to be. I have no need to indulge in oneupmanship. I prefer to make the gifts for others by hand. They may be more humble and they may not light up, twinkle, and beep, but they come from the heart and there is love in every stitch and brush stroke.
What I wish is for all of us to take a deep breath and be kinder to each other. Kindness given to others is a force multiplier. To you, dear reader, I wish only the best of times, no matter what you may label them.
Musings 