O Christmas tree

This is a season when family traditions matter more than any other time of year.

We are in the season of holiday baking, festive cocktail parties and gift exchanges. Christmas songs and classic movies we quote throughout the year play on a loop, and we find ourselves driving around to see holiday light displays. Decorating cookies and gingerbread houses are seasonal favorites for many families. Visits and letters to Santa, church celebrations of the Nativity, Christmas shows and train visits to the North Pole are all things we think of during the Christmas season, but perhaps one of the most heralded and beloved traditions this time of year is the Christmas tree.

What is it about a Christmas tree that is a symbol of this season? Did you know that Christmas trees originated in Germany and worked their way to the United States in the early 1800s? I love visiting Conner Prairie around the holidays to learn different traditions and their origins associated with different religions for this time of year. It was there that I learned the original Christmas trees were decorated with actual candles, and due to the obvious safety issues that entailed, a bucket of water was also customary to have next to the tree. Instead of the ornaments we use today, people used to decorate with fruit and candies. Sometimes little children would make dolls out of cornhusks and place them in their trees.

Did you know that live trees, in addition to their beauty and traditions, are good for the environment? According to kunc.org, “Frasier Fir, Balsam Fir, Grand Fir and Scotch Pine improve our environment. Thousands of acres of trees are planted to supply the demand for the holidays. Those millions of trees clean the air. The trees take carbon monoxide out of the air, metabolize it and give off fresh, clean air. This clear air is blown around the planet from wherever the trees are grown.”

Did you know that approximately 25 to 30 million live Christmas trees are sold annually in the United States each season as compared to the 95 million artificial trees? I am one of those rare breeds who loves both live and artificial trees, so no need to sell me on the real versus artificial tree debate. I understand the pros and cons of each. You can drop your used tree off at the local Hamilton County parks to have it be recycled at the end of the season. The Christmas tree you had displayed in your front window all season may end up as mulch in one of your neighbor’s flowerbeds this spring!

The recipe I use with my children to make Krinkle Cookies, from the children’s book Cookies for Santa by America’s Test Kitchen. (Photo provided by Megan Rathz)

I love the season of Christmas and all the traditions my husband and I have started. We take our children and our family on the Sullivan Express to visit Santa at the North Pole. I love setting up my Christmas village display just the right way. We enjoy going downtown to see Yuletide. We make countless runs to Starbucks for our red cups and load the kids up in their pajamas with blankets to look at light displays. We love getting a hot chocolate and visiting the Magic of Lights display at Ruoff.

Our Christmas Eve starts with us making our special Christmas Krinkle Cookies for Santa. We enjoy a nice quiet dinner as a family at one of our favorite hibachi restaurants after a beautiful Christmas Eve service at our church. Once home, my husband reads The Night Before Christmas to our children and we leave out some cookies and milk (and a beer) for Santa before tucking our children in their beds in matching pajamas. I never knew Santa enjoyed a beer on Christmas Eve until I met my husband!

We spent Christmas morning seeing what surprises Santa brought before we have our family over for a big brunch. I start a ham first thing in the morning and the entire house fills with the sweet aromas of it and my Nana’s coffee cake. Once everyone leaves and we have the house cleaned up, we all cuddle up to watch A Christmas Story movie. I cherish the time after the hustle and bustle of the day when sitting on the couch and our Christmas tree is the only light in the room. I am always a little melancholy when it is time to take down our tree and wonder to myself what our tree will look like next year.

The Krinkle Cookies the Rathz family leave for Santa by their fireplace. (Photo provided by Megan Rathz)

Nature is speaking to us this holiday season. It is asking us to make room in our homes and create memories with our families. Are you listening?

Megan Rathz is a wife, mother and teacher. She says everything she has ever learned in life came from her Master Gardener mother.