The Most Beautiful Christmas Tree
“The days are short, the nights are long, the air is cold and chilly…” I heard my sister singing very early this morning. It was a Christmas song we learned in grade school. I found myself humming the song, trying to remember its lyrics, while I wrapped myself in a thick blanket. Brrrrrr!
Christmas is indeed just around the corner. The newly-opened supermarket near our place lit up its big Christmas tree last night. It was delightful to see the towering Christmas tree with its twinkling lights and colorful decorations. I felt like a kid mesmerized by its glow.
The first Christmas tree I knew did not have any light on it. It was made by my mother. She would find a big can of milk and fill it with soil and pebbles. Next, she would cover the can with a colored paper. Then, she’d find a wooden stick to serve as the “trunk”. She would cut another milk can open, flatten it, cut some strips, and wrap them with strips of paper to cover the sharp edges (on some instances, she suffered cuts on her finger doing these). The strips of metal (from milk can) would serve as “branches” when nailed or fastened with wire to the wooden stick. Once the “trunk” already have “branches”, she would “plant” the tree in the can filled with soil and pebbles.
Initially, the tree would look like a fish skeleton, very bare. It was the job of my siblings and I to decorate it. We would run home from school excitedly knowing that a bare Christmas tree was waiting for us. To serve as “leaves”, we would cut sheets of green crepe paper then press a coconut midrib repeatedly on them to curl the edges. Then, we would paste the crepe paper to the metal sheets covered with strips of newspaper.
We were fond of having a star on top of our Christmas tree. So my mother would cut a star from a cardboard and cover the pattern with silver cigarette foil paper and viola! We couldn’t afford to buy shimmering Christmas balls, so we would just hang different patterns and shapes made from cardboard and covered with different colored papers.
Once finished, we would proudly display the tree in one corner of the house. It was a very humble Christmas tree, about two or three feet tall. It didn’t have twinkling lights, glistening balls, and other fancy decorations. Only a flicker from a small kerosene lamp illuminated it on many nights. But it was, and still is, the most beautiful Christmas tree in the world to me.
Your mother’s Christmas Tree is (was) the most beautiful in the world to me too ~ because it was made with love. How wonderful that she used what she had to fashion such a lovely gift for you all. Not everything that glitters is gold.
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Iba talaga pasko sa Pinas! Advance Merry Christmas Miss N!
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awww…nakakatouch naman to..the best things in the world is not actually the most expensive things but the things that has stories behind it and the things made with love and to make somebody else smile,,
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ei! i remember those types of christmas trees – yung gawa mismo ng pamilya (kami dati kumukuha pa ng bakhaw o mangroove branch). true, they are more beautiful than the commercial ones. iba kasi pag gawa sa puso.
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pasko na naman pala!
*hikbi*
me na-alala lang ako…
isang tulisan…
*hikbi*
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pasko na.. ; )
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Lovely – must be simple as the manger…
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hindi pa namin na sesetup ang christmas tree. ako kasi ang katulong ni daddy sa pagbuo noon.
kaso ngayon may work na ko, medyo walang time. pero gagawan ko yun ng paraan para mabuo naming dalawa yung christmas tree namin.,
time is running out. hurry up!!!
hehe
hapy christmas ms. n
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Merry Christmas Miss N!
I have a gift for you.
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advance merry Christmas miss n…
pero bago magpasko, its rice awareness month muna…
papromote po ha and pls do join… thanks…
SHOUT YOUR LOVE FOR RICE!
http://yhen1027.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/shout-your-love-for-rice/
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Nung bata pa kami ganyan din, kukuha ng isang maliit na puno na maraming maliliit na sanga…lilinisin at pipinturahan ng puti. Gagawa ng mga ibat-ibang kulay na papel…tapos gugupitin at bubuuin na parang mga tanikala na ipapalibot sa simpleng Christmas Tree na nakabaon din sa malaking lata na puno ng bato.
Katulad ng sabi ni dFish sa itaas. Ang mensahe ng Pasko ay ang regalo sa atin ng Panginoong Diyos na si Jesus…ipinanganak siya sa simpleng sabsaban. Sana di mawala ang tao sa tunay na mensahe ng Pasko na di nakatuon sa materyal at marangyang bagay…sana sa pamilyang nasa simpleng sabsaban na punong-puno ng pagmamahalan.
Salamat sa pag-share ng istorya ninyong ito Ms. N.
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ako mas gusto ko ang krismas tre na gawa lang ng mga bagay na meron sa bahay…katulad ng iyong binanggit….walang kinang ng katulad sa dept. strore…pero mas maganda kasi pinagpaguran at binuhusan ng pagmamahal…..
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semi hibernation mode indefinitely…..magulo po kasi mundo ko lately…anyway..will be back home for a vacation tomorrow…thanks for visiting my site…keep it up………………
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balang araw makakabili din ako ng malaking xmas tree na ako ang mgalalagay ng mga decorations… lam mo ba isa sa wekness ko ang xmas tree? minsan sa mall hindi nila ko makita, mga isang oras, nakita nila ko nakatitig sa xmas tree…
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what is it about christmas trees that make the season more festive ano? ako, i really take the time to decorate our tree kasi when i see it fully ade up and christmasy, it makes me happy.
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