Our Christmas Tree of Memories

Our Christmas tree is up.

At first, my husband wanted to pass the Christmas season without a Christmas tree (I think it is too much for him just weeks after Opa's death). But the girls wanted a tree, and of course, I wanted one, too.

After a short negotiation, we agreed to have a small tree; we nodded in skipping the mistletoe and grabbed some window lights.

But what about the decor for our Christmas tree? We havent really settled down yet and most of our things are still in the boxes; and buying new ones doesnt seem practical as we have loads of them buried in some of those boxes.

Finding those decors would be out priority indeed. And yet... you know what the first things we saw as we were sorting out the empty house of Opa? The Christmas decors collected for years by Opa and Oma!

The girls were thrilled because some of those Christmas balls and figurines were their favorites -- in fact, they remembered that they have extracted a promise from their grandparents that they would only be allowed to bring those home when they wont be needing them anymore. They did try most Christmas, to beg for one item but Oma's answer would always be, 'you could always come to us and you would see your favorite things.'

MC also looked in frenzy for Opa's Christmas pyramid; she told Opa before that she wanted to have the pyramid when Opa doesnt want it anymore. After days of searching, we found it.

Although we were all a bit disappointed because the pyramid needs some repair; the girls decided to just place it under the Christmas tree because as they said 'this is our Christmas tree of memories.' While busy hanging the balls, the figurines, the bells, the glitter strands; the girls reminisced on how Opa and Oma's Christmas tree always seem to be filled with colors. They love it that now we have our Christmas tree of colors and memories.

A Christmas Pyramid (German: Weihnachtspyramide) is a Christmas decoration that has its roots in the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains) of Germany but has become popular throughout the country. It is suggested that the Christmas pyramid is a predecessor of the Christmas tree. It is a kind of Carousel with several levels some depicting Christian motifs, such as angels or manger scenes, and others with more secular motifs such as mountain-folk, forests, and other scenes from the everyday life of people in the Erzgebirge. The spinning motion of the pyramids is traditionally achieved with the help of candles whose rising heat spins a propeller above. Generally Christmas pyramids are made of wood and based on four- to eight-sided platforms with a long pole in the middle serving as the axle to which the entire apparatus tapers above and which supports any further platforms. Inside in a glass or ceramic support is a driveshaft on to which at least one platform is attached. The figures, which stand on the platforms are also traditionally made of wood.