This golden bird on my Christmas tree is the last remaining glass ornament I bought in Germany. There were a dozen of them originally, though a few were broken that very first year when our kitten pounced and toppled the tree. Others either never survived their shipment back to the States the following year, or our subsequent nomadic life.
The bird is not the oldest ornament on my tree. That honor goes to a faded blue glass globe topped with snow that once glittered. This ornament was my childhood favorite, and each year nestles in a secret spot at the back my tree.
I decorate my tree “old style” with as many glass ornaments as I can fit, alongside ones made lovingly by my children and grandchildren. It takes hours to create my sugarplum fantasy, working outward from trunk to tip and downward from top to bottom. It’s a labor of love. It’s tradition.
Tradition grounds us, centers us, comforts us. It represents our memory of the past, our enjoyment of the present, and our anticipation of the future. I wish for you to have abundant tradition throughout your life.
Linda Cassidy Lewis 
Kasie, glad you like my photo … it only took me fifteen tries! Have a beautiful Christmas with your family.
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Beautiful picture! I did not inherit a xmas tree tradition from my family – a hodgepodge of religious beliefs that included both xmas trees and menorot. I have been thinking a lot about traditions given that I am at a point of building my traditions from the ground up for my toddlers. At two years old, this is the first xmas that they will remember so I’ve been trying to include some newly minted “traditions” that they will remember fondly years from now.
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Dan, How exciting that you’re aware of creating a new tradition for the twins. And imagine that someday they will write about their wonderful “Papa”!
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that bird is as old as me.
it was a very good year.
: )
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