I have mentioned before, that in my family the Christmas tree is revealed on the 24th of December, this way it can be fully enjoyed during the twelve days of Christmas. Some people have the tradition to take it down on Epiphany after letting all the candles burn to the end, others, according to wikipedia, wait until the beginning of February to take down the tree.
On the 22nd or so, I saw someone put their Christmas tree into a tree bag outside of their house for pickup, a bit too early, and I have seen quite a few trees collected in the nearby park yesterday (some years as early as the morning of the 25th you can find out chucked out trees…). If we would do that, then we’d have either no tree at all, or get rid of it after too little time.
So today, on the 3rd day of Christmas I want to join in Hugh’s Photo Challenge: Week 8 – Charity Christmas Tree Topper Challenge by sharing what’s on top of the tree, but also what else you can found in the room dedicated to Christmas. Sorry for the quality of the pictures, the lighting was not optimal…
This angel sits atop the tree. If I recall correctly he was a present my paternal grandmother made for my parents. Over the years his face made from wax has lost it’s contours. When I was little, he was holding candles in his hands, but they melted with the heat from tree’s candles below.
Some years the golden angel is replaced by this white angel that my mother crafted. Her reference was the angel above. This one you can see the fine type face the other used to have, but that melted away. Next to the angel you can see a Santa Claus/Sankt Nikolaus, which I think was one of my creations as a child, but it might have been my sister’s.
So that’s for what you can find on top of the tree, but what about what was below it this year? Some years there are presents below the tree, I also recall my grandparents’ dog sleeping beneath it. This year, there were no dogs or presents, but the nativity scene. My aunt made it for my dad when she was a teenager. It is probably as old as I am…
Over the years the handmade decorations on the tree have grown sparser, even the traditional wooden figurines like this little angel have lost their prominence in my parents’ tree.
As fine decorations made from glass have made their appearance.
Some of these decorations are the characters from A Christmas Carol.
Besides the angel and the Santa Claus I showed you above, other figurines can be found, such as this Bergmann Engel from the Erzgebirge.
I hope that you liked getting a small peak at my Christmas decorations. Enjoy the time “between the years”, as Germans call the time between Christmas and the New Year.
© Solveig Werner 2015. All rights reserved.
Solveig Werner 
What amazing decorations, Solveig both handmade and those spectacular glass ones. If you look at the photo of the piano with all our Christmas decorations on it, you’ll see an Erzgebirge Christmas Tree. I bought it from a candleshop in my Grandfather’s home town of Hahndorf, which is in South Australia near Adelaide. Here’s a link to the shop: http://www.candleshop.com.au/
Here’s a link a post I wrote https://beyondtheflow.wordpress.com/2015/04/10/hahndorf-south-australia-the-blacksmith-and-the-artists/
xx Rowena
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My grandfather spends fortunes on the glass ones every year… I have a lot of beautiful decorations myself that will come out of their boxes when we have an apartment big enough to celebrate in our own home, when we can be the hosts for Christmas.
Thank you!
Our paths cross each other all the time Rowena, you know when I lived near Heidelberg, the street I lived on was called “Zum Hahnenschrei”…
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That’s so funny. I’ll have to check it out on Google Earth. I lived in Schliefweg no. 22.
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I know Wiesloch. I had American friends who were my second family there and I think they lived near there or other Americans I knew lived there. Heidelberg was such a stunning place and it was incredible to live there as an Australian and be in a place which actually had a castle!
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When I was growing up, we would leave our tree up until January 6, which was my father’s birthday. We wouldn’t get the tree until around the 18th or 20 th of December so it would stay fresh until the 6th. Now I try to leave it up till New year’s.
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I do guess the freshness of the tree does matter a lot, in France people tend to not put them into water and that makes them dry out really quickly…
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Most people I know keep their trees up until New Years. We always put ours up about a week before Christmas, but our new tradition is early December. One thing, when we still had a real tree most places would be sold out by the second week of December so we’d pay twice the price for left overs! Nice post, beautiful decorations.
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In Germany many people buy them last minute. We made that mistake last year, only to go from shop to shop searching for a tree, well we got the one no one wanted with a 30% discount. This year my dad bough one a bit more than a week before Christmas and was able to keep it at the shop until the 22nd, because they stay fresh longer if stored outside, people with gardens are a bit better off…
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Loved your Christmas Carol ones and the Bergmann Engel. Enjoy your tree! (Maybe the tree going out on the 22nd was from those celebrating the solstice – though I think they often wait until February 1.) Anyway, happy holidays! 🎄
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The Scrooge one is great too, he’s got two sides, one is the mean grumpy Scrooge and the other side of the figurine is the altered one after the passing of the ghosts.
Maybe they were leaving to celebrate Christmas with their relatives, it does seem like some people cannot wait to chuck out the tree…
Happy Holidays to you too, enjoy the end of the year!
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Aah! That Scrooge one sounds brilliant! 😀
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Your decorations are very lovely and so appropriate to the time of year. You definitely enjoy celebrating. I’m happy for you.
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Thank you! I really do love Christmas, it’s always been my favourite holiday of the year. Maybe it’s due to my birthday being a bit neglected as it takes place in the middle of August, Christmas is far more important than my birthday for me.
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I wait until Epiphany! Your decorations are so pretty, Solveig.
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Well, they are my parents’ I did not open my Christmas boxes this year, but one day I’ll share them too.
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They belong a little bit to you. 😊
For a while I didn’t have many but as years passed my children made some, offered me others and now it’s a full tree from thanksgiving to epiphany.
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Hi Solveig, thank you very much for entering my Christmas Tree Topper photography challenge in aid of The Dogs Trust Charity. By entering the challenge you have helped us get nearer our target and have given a homeless dog a meal. Thank you so much.
Your Christmas tree and its ornaments are beautiful. I love how you mix the older decorations with the new ones. From what I have seen, and read, many people seem to do the same. ‘A Christmas Carol’ is one of my favourite books. I love the ornaments you have from the story.
Happy “between the years’ to you.
Seasons Greetings,
Hugh
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