"...And Finding A Christmas Tree"

I'll admit the truth, I've been humming the 12 Pains Of Christmas. Oh you remember the song. "The first thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me is finding a Christmas Tree. The Second thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me: Rigging up the lights, and finding a Christmas Tree...." On and on it goes. A wonderful parody of the 12 Days of Christmas. I forget what year the song came out, I know I was in college, so it's been about 20 years or so.

Anyway, since I'm off the hook for cooking tomorrow, I'm still procrastinating cleaning the house! Never a dull moment, there's plenty little things I need to get accomplished before Friday. Throwing all the gayness I can into the season, I decided to do an old fashion tree trimming party on Friday. Yes, I went there. I'm not going overboard on spending this year, but I wanted to make the Holidays enjoyable enough, so a Wassail I'll throw together, a fatted goose in the oven, and a'caroling we'll do.

What the eff is this boy talking about?!?! I'm kidding about that corny shit. I couldn't begin to tell you a recipe for Wassail, though I've had it...quite tasty actually, couldn't afford a goose if I wanted one, and I don't sing Christmas Carols outside of Church! Nope. We're having ham and all the delicious side dishes-as yet-to-be determined, but we will be decorating my tree.

Three reasons why: 1) Money is tight, tight, tight. There won't be much gift giving this year, but wanted the season to seem festive. 2) I'm being a lazy ass. One of the biggest trials and tribulations every year is digging out of the basement all the cotton pickin' decorations and the artificial tree, then having to hang it all up! Figured this year, I'll get good friends to help out. 3) Last reason, well... it's kinda tradition to put the tree on Thanksgiving Friday.

Yes, I called it Thanksgiving Friday. Better than "Black Friday". Je déteste the moniker, seems so negative. S'ppose in this instance, however,it's not. If my grey matter recollects properly, in the financial world, isn't when something is in the black, that means it's good? It's being the red ya gotta worry about, right? I think so. Call me paranoid, used to everything "black" having a negative associations, I tend to rile against using the word except only in positive, affirming terms.

Getting to my point, Friday after Thanksgiving is traditionally when Christmas decor makes its season debut in the Darktomahawk Familia households. Yes, it's awfully early, but it's an old, old tradition going back to my father's people. What little remembrances I have of my great grandparents, I do remember the house done up at Holiday time. On the other hand, my mum and her family tradition, don't put a blessed card, ornament, or decoration up until Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve!?! What's the friggin' point by then? But that's how they do it.

As children, after my parents divorced, my sisters and I were always able to finagle our mum to get the tree up at least the second week of December, not on Christmas Eve. She'd give in, and compromise, but definitely no sooner than December 10th. Funny how my father's habits rubbed off on us, the things like that leave a lasting impression on you. You go to either of my sisters' houses...we all do the same thing. Tree, Navity Scene, blah, blah, blah...it's up. "Sissy,"my older sister, participates in some newer traditions since she got married to E. Apparrently there's a Puerto Ricon tradition celebrated, something to do with hay and shoe boxes under the bed? I'm not familiar with it.

So tell me, what are you're traditions? When, if you celebrate Christmas, do you put your tree?