Christmas trees

There is no Christmas tree in my house (not yet anyway)! Actually, all these years we've survived on a small one that could actually stand on a table and didn't need much decoration. Then, earlier this year, in a bout of spring cleaning, I threw it out. It had got rather mangled underneath other objects in the storeroom. So, yesterday I went looking for what I thought would 'last' - a tree with LED lighting. I saw a small one being sold last year - so dragged my son to that same mall to see if they still sell it. There was only one type being sold, too big and rather pricey so I decided maybe not.

After sharing this with a friend I found out that she too hasn't bothered with a Christmas tree for years.

I still haven't got into any sense of the usual Christmas celebratory mood this year. I have hardly been to the malls to window shop let alone shop for gifts. It has been trips for the usual purpose - groceries. I am amused by the two sides of life portrayed on cable TV. First, we have the bleak news, the really worrying things in one part of the world, in fact in many. But switch to another channel and you get to watch someone cooking up a special Christmas dinner - a feast of indulgence. What is the essence of Christmas? What image should we hold on to and hope to live out?

I have decided that this year anyway, I will not spend the remaining week getting busy in order to catch up on my 'neglect' of the festive season. I will get gifts for loved ones but they don't have to be elaborate. I won't rush....let things fall into place in time (or not) - learning to say, that's ok too.

I just called up a friend and found that she's going to a mall in the city with a couple of others tomorrow - so, I've decided to join them - more for 'walking around' as they say, rather than any serious agenda. Well maybe I'll get some ideas about how to decorate meaningfully without a tree.