| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2009 12:12 am |
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Treetop traditions: Herald readers share tales of their special Christmas decorations When it comes to Christmastime, few things are more special, iconic and cherished than a family's specially decorated tree.What higher place of honor is there than at the very top? It is the realm of angels, stars, saints and, well, moose. This year, we asked readers to share their stories of Christmas trees toppers. We were not disappointed. Read on for their stories, and share your own in the comments section of this story. GOD'S ANGEL I love to use angels as they are a reminder of God's infinite love for us. It says in the Psalms, "He gives his angels charge over us." I think that's such a wonderful security. How many times have angels saved us from terrible things? Her wings are real feathers. She is just delightful. She's perfect. She is just our reminder of how much God loves us. Marcia Schultz of Lynnwood FOR THE LOVE OF LUCY LOCKET For over 40 years, my doll Lucy Locket, now a Christmas angel, has held a hand-carved wooden star as she sits on top of the tree. When I was a pre-teen, my mother told me to choose one doll to take with us when we moved. It was a difficult decision because I loved my baby doll Edie the most, but Lucy Locket was the prettiest and cleanest. Her blond hair was pulled back into braids as I wore mine and her pink dress was long and soft with full sleeves and a blue ribbon. I chose the grown-up lady doll and left the "childhood play things" behind. The year I was first married, I made Lucy Locket a fine pair of glitter-covered paper wings and tied her to the top of the Christmas tree. The hand-carved wooden star she held in her hand was given to us by our eccentric family friend, old man Capt. Swan. From that year onward, Lucy became my Christmas angel, and every year she would be taken down, wrapped up in paper and put away until the next Christmas. Time has passed and I'm a divorced woman living on my own. I no longer have children at home. I'm no longer a newlywed. I'm no longer that pre-teen making a decision over her childhood dolls. But what I am is a grandmother of 27 grandchildren and counting! And every Christmas my doll Lucy Locket comes out of her newspaper wrapping and sits on top of the tree. Her dress has now faded to off-white, her hair is a bit messy, but to me she's as beautiful and ladylike as the day I chose her to stay with me. She is my Christmas angel and she watches over my family, my children and their children. Melody Ojala, Lake Stevens TWO RIGHT HANDS We have had our current tree topper for about 10 years now. I bought her at Rite Aid when the lights in the angel she succeeded burned out. She is really gaudy. She has a string of pearls, a lacy dress and gold lame wings. I love it. But the thing I love most about this angel is she has two right hands. It was a couple of years after we bought her that I noticed it. I suppose the people in the factory were right when they were putting it together and they thought no one would notice they ran out of left hands. Maybe they didn't have any left hands to begin with. Maybe the manufacturer got a good deal on the right hands and they just decided to go for it. I do like to think sometimes that, somewhere out there, there is another angel with two left hands. Sheila Lyon, Marysville ANGEL OF FORGIVENESS When I was 17, my boyfriend and I decided to run to Idaho and get married. He was a "bad boy" and my parents disliked him very much. A group of kids at school, juniors and seniors, had started running off to Idaho, so we did, too. I was a senior. He was a dropout, age 18. I was crazy about him. We were married Oct. 17, 1960. When we came back, I went back to school. My mom refused to talk to me for the longest time. I did promise I would graduate. My mom and dad made an angel for the top of our Christmas tree. Now, none of us are creative or artistic and that is quite evident when looking at the angel. My mom bought a platinum-haired storybook doll, and dad cut the legs off so she would slip over the top of the tree. Mom took bits of satin and netting and hand-stitched a strapless gown with a net overskirt. They cut wings from cardboard and covered them with foil. A tiny shiny silver garland was around her head for her halo. She is 48 years old and looks every bit of it! She has been glued, sewn and straight-pinned to hold her together! She has been on every tree every year since. She has been a constant in my children's lives. Yes, we had two children before finally divorcing. My son was born on our first wedding anniversary and my daughter just before Christmas two years later. In 1967, we divorced (unusual in those days). He was drafted immediately. He was killed eight months later. I still loved him. I always loved him. We love this old beater angel. My dad died in 1994. My mom is 86 years old now. I smile thinking of the two of them, in their late 30s, struggling to put the angel together for me. I think they wanted to show their forgiveness for a daughter who had deeply disappointed them by marrying so young. Randie James, Everett MEMORIAL RING We lost our grandson in June 2005 in a tragic accident. The first Christmas after his death when I was decorating our Christmas tree, I was trying to figure out how to make sure he would always be a part of our celebrating of the holidays. What I came up with was a gold ring symbolizing an angel's halo around the top of our Christmas tree. I bought a 14- or 15-inch gold ring that you would use in macrame or sun catchers. Tyler's halo is now a Christmas tradition in our family and is a wonderful time for us to share memories of our beloved No. 1 grandson when someone asks what the ring on our tree symbolizes. Mary Medlang, Arlington LONG-STANDING STAR Our family has a special tree topper that has been used every year for at least 60 years, as far as I can remember as a child of 3 or 4. Even from that age, I remember the metal star that topped our tree. It is made of three pieces: a red background, a white front and a bulb in the middle. That bulb is what made it magical because we had to decide what color bulb to have for that particular year. It was a big decision, one that each of us four kids had to take turns making. When I became an adult, I would always be anxious to go home to see what color the star was for that year. About 20 years ago, my parents asked all of us kids if there was anything in particular we would like to have. I guess the other kids had other favorite things because I, as the oldest child in the family, became the owner of the magical star. My two children then decided every year what color bulb they wanted. As the years rolled along, my parents both passed and my kids left home. That decision was mine every year until about five to six years ago. My daughter had married and had a son. I felt that star was made to be passed down to the third and fourth generations. Now our two grandsons carefully put the "Sanford Family Star" on top of their own tree, where they can admire it as I did for so many years. It really can be said that it's the little things that create memories because this is one of my favorites. Jackie Hause, Everett CROWNING GLORY We have an angel tree topper that my husband and I bought the first year we were married in 1973. She has a blond '70s hairstyle and a sweet face. Wearing her cute cardboard dress and wings, she sits on top of our largest tree each Christmas season. It just would not be the same if she did not adorn the treetop. To think back through each Christmas we have had together and with our son, Brian, and now our daughter-in-law, Tasha, makes for wonderful memories. She represents 35 years of happy marriage and merry Christmases. Stephanie and Tom Walters, Everett MERRY CHRISMOOSE When my husband and I married 21 years ago, we didn't have two nickels to rub together! For our first Christmas together we hunted for bargain decorations. We found our tree topper on a clearance rack and he has topped our tree each year since. His name is Merry ChrisMoose! Julie Stuvland, Snohomish 100 CHRISTMASES A Norwegian angel tops our tree every year. It is made of thin metal with brass plating, and is mounted on a spike to hold it on the top of the tree. We know it is well over 100 years old, but have no idea exactly how old it is. Lee's father, Ole, was born in 1903, one of nine children. He told us that the Christmas tree of his childhood always had that angel at the top. Ole came to the United States as a young man, married and had one child, Lee. In 1947 when Ole visited Norway he brought the angel back with him. Lee remembers always having the angel on the top of the Christmas tree when he was a boy. Lee and I married and have two children, now grown, and Ole gave it to us shortly after our son was born. That angel has been at the top of our Christmas tree all those years. We now have grandchildren. Our angel has seen over 100 years of Christmasses, and several generations of children, in Norway and the United States. The angel itself is about 5 1/2 inches tall and overall it is about 7 1/2 inches. It is no longer beautiful. It has some dents in it and the finish is tarnished in places. However, it represents the continuity of the family and a wonderful Christmas tradition. We like to think of the different times and Christmas celebrations, the many trees, children, homes, family dinners and visits from Santa and Nissen (a Norwegian Christmas elf who leaves presents for children) that angel has seen. Barb and Lee Brevik, Snohomish ANGEL OF ANGELS When we selected our Christmas tree topper during our first year of marriage in December 1976, both of us "financially challenged" students at the UW, we had no idea that it would set the theme for all our future Christmases. We purchased a $3.99 tree at Chubby & Tubby and went over the budget to get the tree topper from Germany at the Seattle Christmas House for $15. It is a red and gold foil angel, suspended inside a clear blown-glass tear shape, topped with a foil gold star. Over the next several years we added a variety of angel ornaments below this beautiful topper until ultimately it became our Christmas tree of angels, where only angel ornaments were hung. It was the start of an angel collection for both on and off the Christmas tree. No matter how big or small, costly or inexpensive, our Christmas tree is always first topped with our angel topper and then all the angels are added, each attached to a memory of people and places special to us. Connie Parchem, Mukilteo TRAVELING TOPPER My husband, Ed, came home on leave from the Army in 1967 and purchased this 69-cent tree topper for our first Christmas tree. It has traveled with us across Washington state, down to Oregon and to Texas for a very long 12 years. (Home is Washington state.) It is the last ornament placed on the tree every Christmas and the first one removed after Christmas. It has lost some of its sparkle through the years, but the memories of each past Christmas are still here for Ed and me 41 years later. Merry Christmas! Tamara Pidgeon, Arlington FRAGILE STAR We were married in 1962 in Seattle. We moved to the rural town of Burley, Idaho, in October of that year because of a job transfer. In early December we bought our first house. Trying to make the house more festive for the holidays with limited funds, we visited an 88 Cent Store to pick up tree ornaments for our first Christmas away from the family. We spotted a plastic star to adorn the top of the tree. We thought it was very special and only 88 cents. It has been on the top of all our Christmas trees since that time. To our amazement, we were watching a Christmas special on television in 1977 called "The Gathering" when we saw the same tree-top star in that production. We eventually were able to secure a VHS of that television show and view it regularly during the holidays. To date, we have never seen another treetop star like it. It is fragile and peeling but it is still important to our family. Alan & Judy Hutchison, Everett Compiled by reporter Sarah Jackson: 425-339-3037 sjackson@heraldnet.com |
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