Myrtle Claus
Now the Saint Once again, Christmas is approaching. And with the party everything that goes with it. Writing Christmas cards. Making agreements for what, with whom and when. Thinking about what we will eat during the holidays and, last but not least, decorating the house. And we have different opinions about the right time for the latter.
Long ago…
At my parents' house, we didn't decorate the house until just before the holidays, often just on Christmas Eve. Having the tree in the room just after Santa was not an option: then that special atmosphere that comes with it on Christmas Eve was already so normal.
And given the difficulty the poor tree often had to hold on to its needles from Christmas to New Year's, perhaps also very wise. On January 2, we took him to the Christmas tree burning as quickly as possible and all the decorations were put back in the Christmas boxes.
About new traditions and…
Until about 5 or 6 years ago, I managed to keep this up here at home: the tree was put up on Christmas Eve and on January 2 it was gone again. But now that the children are older and more mature and leave a clearer mark on our family life and therefore also on Christmas, things are different.
In Italy, the Christmas party unofficially starts at December 8, l'Immacolata, the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. It is an Italian tradition to start decorating the house that day.
The nativity scenes are taken out and placed somewhere, possibly in an impressive setting with waterfalls, illuminated mountains and real towns. The Christmas trees are decorated or taken out of the box ready-made. And the outdoor lighting is hung, if it wasn't dangling somewhere from the previous year.
...generation gaps
Those two of us can totally relate to this part of that Italian tradition. After lost discussions, the boxes with Christmas stuff will also be in our room on December 8 to make it 'Christmas'.
Like the rest of Italy, we decorate our Christmas tree, put the Christmas frills in the round and fix the lights to the balcony. Meanwhile, the children fill a shelf in the bookcase with their ever-growing nativity scene. Fortunately, without a waterfall.
A tidy start
After all the parties with good food and lots of fun, the holiday month in Italy after Epiphany is really over. However, the offspring then appear to be a lot less sensitive to tradition. At their request, our house always stays in a merry Christmas atmosphere until the end of the holidays, many days after the 6th of January.
Far too long as far as I am concerned, not long enough as far as my children are concerned. However, I think we can easily reach a compromise this year.
In my opinion, Epiphany is extremely favorable and school starts a few days earlier than has been the case in recent years. So three guesses as to what I'll be doing early on January 7!
Comments