Upside down Christmas trees?! What’s happened to traditional decorations?

I was unaware of the popularity of upside-down trees. Enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAfSmwynSLU

Only in America! Are you expected to unwrap your Christmas presents standing on your head! Or maybe hanging from the chandelier 🙂

I don’t know, but at least there is more space for presents round the tree, unless you are supposed to stick them to the ceiling.

I would hazard a guess the whole thing is a very subtle promotional exercise for inverted Scotch Tape.

So how do you decorate your home for Christmas, Duncan?

NON PC John and my wife agrees with me .

What does that mean, exactly?

Exactly the opposite of what is now portrayed on commercial media Ian.

Have you joined the PC Brigade now then, Duncan? Personally I think Christmas decorations are Perfectly Correct having been used in this country in some shape of form continuously from time immemorial.

Anyway, I hope you and your wife can still enjoy a very merry Christmas.

No John I was meaning the reason we celebrate it You know I am not politically correct .

So, Duncan, you sit in an unheated house, eating bread and water, muttering ‘humbug’ and resolutely refusing to send or accept presents? After all, commercial media is about consuming.

I am sure Duncan has a much more enjoyable time than you give him credit for, Ian. What you have mentioned are just the highlights.

😅 😂 🤣

Wonderful!

I don’t particularly like the commercialisation of Christmas any more than, it seems, duncan does, but I can live with it. I see many people spending money on things others really do not need, paying inflated prices for Christmas parties of dubious quality, destroying forests to send cards and wrap presents, throw away masses of uneaten food, shutting down industry and reducing productivity, ………but people are entitled to run their own lives in the way they choose. And it seems to boost the economy. I fall victim to the celebrations though, although this year we are restricting giving presents to the young family members as the rest have most of what they need (apart from mrs r’s kettle – shhhhh!).

6 Christmas trees and thousands of lights might be seen as depriving the world of energy and contributing to global warming, but life is for living.

There are many complaints about people who are on their own at Christmas – some from choice, many not. It would be nice to have a matchmaking site where local people could be put in touch with each other to join forces on the day.

Your right John Christmas has a spiritual meaning to me because you could feel the atmosphere of a”togetherness ” of the people and a feeling of charity . That’s gone now , its down to what you believe in . I don’t have a problem with profit or commercial gain or capitalism its what its become that I don’t like . Greed , avarice, double dealing are the name of the game now . Get as much as you can out of the public –by any means . Never has a US saying been m,ore apt-never give a sucker an even brake .But not all society is in a downward spiral – strangely many of the organisation I support and belong to are run by young people from round the world as well as the UK and all religions , they can see reality so the Spirit of the “Aquarian Age ” we are now into isn’t dead. Its the young people who speak out and act as old guys like me can only talk .I think society should be more honest people now expect gifts and the media in this country has banned any sort of “Spirit ” only celebrating the spirit of fine malt single whiskey and the spirit of unbridled free enterprise .

We always used to refer to glass balls and the name ‘bauble’ has a negative connotation to me. Maybe it’s because modern plastic ones don’t look as nice.

Didn’t it come from the world of fashion – as in “baubles, bangles and beads”? This is the title of a song in the musical Kismet but I guess a bauble is some kind of extravagant costume decoration that migrated to the Christmas tree.

In my childhood the tree ornaments were called ‘glass balls’ and some of them were very intricate with a concave face in a contrasting colour. Filled with nostalgia for these decorations we thought of buying some new hand-made glass ones the other day . . . until we saw the prices.

I remember the glass balls that were not ball-shaped, but being fragile, none have survived, whereas the curvature of spheres helps the round ones survive falls and other minor abuse. Having mentioned the price of glass balls to a friend I have been given a box of sixteen glass balls bearing the brand name ‘St Michael’ (patron saint of wooly jumpers) to add to my collection.

Decorating a Christmas tree is not as much fun as it used to be, but I don’t think I will go down the route of pre-decorated trees, either upside-down or in normal orientation.

According to Wikipedia: “The Bauble Shop is a play by Henry Arthur Jones. It is about modern London life. It opened at the Criterion Theatre in the West End in 1893.”

“baubles, bangles and beads”? This is the title of a song in the musical Kismet” And the song was an adaptation of Borodin’s Prince Igor – specifically the dances of the Handmaidens. Borodin – as did most Russian composers – had a wonderful grasp of melody and wrote some stunning material, which Hollywood was only too happy to steal.

Yes, Ian – I have always been a lover of his symphonies. Some fabulous music emerged from Russia before and during the Soviet era but it rarely gets performed in this country. We have a lot to thank film and TV for in cultural development. Don’t forget, there were a lot of Russians in Hollywood and performing in America during the inter-war years.

I imagine you must be visible from space Ian 🙂 Santa no doubt will have no trouble in finding you on Christmas Eve. I trust the hot toddies and mince pies are all ready lined up in readiness for his visit. 🙂

A bit like a festive version of the Great Wall of China 🙂 I really enjoy lights; I think we need them at this time of the year.

Like the ties touch, Alex. That’s nice.

I think Philip was being ironical, Alex. You might have missed ‘the point’ [as it’s at floor level].

Sorry John, but irony was not in my mind. I suppose it was a pointed remark?
No Alex, nothing unusual. I did have one or two special items, but lost them during a divorce/annulment, and left it at that on the ‘clean break’ principle. We tend to use artificial trees these days, simply for convenience, particularly in South Africa if we are there for Christmas. I personally prefer the real thing, but leave decorational matters to my wife, who is talented in that field. We both enjoy (in either country) the efforts of those who put up external decorations: a street called Lawley Street in Pretoria is famous for its decorations – and it spreads a little each year to neighbouring streets, and to other areas. Provided the electricity supply can cope (and we have moved into a period of excess capacity in SA) I like it, unless it becomes competitive, which is not a Christmas spirit to my mind. I remember a film on that subject in the UK some years ago, which was amusing.

In the UK a local garden centre used to supply logs with a hole in as part of the deal, and turned the end of the tree to fit. This gave a good base for stabilising the tree, a perennial problem in the 77 Christmases I have enjoyed or on occasion endured! The war years with Dad far away were non events really, but when he got back we built up things a bit. Presents tended to be home made (courtesy of a carpenter uncle), but none the worse for that. Dinky toys were strictly for export in the post war years, and lights were the somewhat dangerous candles, with fires a real risk. The latest types are much better from that point of view: we use battery powered ones. The wonders of LEDs!

Yes Christmases are more spectacular these days, and we do enjoy externally decorated homes in all countries. But the enforced simplicity of my younger days had its attractions. It is important to remember what it is all about. Pointless gimmicks (deliberate this time John!) are not the point of it all (again!!).

A f(a)ir point John? Got to go and spruce the house up a bit now that you have shown me the light John.

Thank you, Philip – I enjoyed reading your comment. Have a good Christmas.