Welcome to my blog on Cowboy Kisses! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with love, laughter, and a delicious dinner. Mine, like most people I think was fast paced. So many family members to gather with through out the day.
First, in the morning we carried on the tradition we started last year with a pie baking contest. Holly and Nick won again! The kids love the tradition of eating pie with ice cream or whipped cream for breakfast. No surprise there.
After My daughter Holly’s family went to her in-laws and the dishes were done with the food put away, my son and his family drove me to see my mother. We surprised her.
My mom had ten children so is used to cooking enough food for an army. It was around eleven thirty and Thanksgiving dinner was on the table. I knew it would be. We didn’t come to eat after just eating pie a couple of hours before, however when mom says “Fix yourself a plate,” that’s what you do! So, we ate.
After visiting an hour or so we drove home and five hours later I served Thanksgiving dinner for my family that lives with me.
Here’s a few pictures from my day.
On to Christmas
The other day I was shopping and everywhere I went had lit Christmas trees up. It started me thinking about the history of Christmas trees of the past. My grandma Ruby Moore who was born in the early nineteen twenties told me about some things like stringing popcorn and berries. She taught me how to string them and I taught my children and we strung them for years while they were growing up.
She also told me that the ornaments were mostly homemade. Crocheted, knitted, cross stitched. They made little red stockings, bells, angels, wreaths and rocking horses, and stars, basically anything they wanted.
Sweet cookies were made and hung.
Berries, nuts and fruits.
Ribbons and bows.
Hand carvings out of wood and sometimes painted.
Many used winter foliage that they would stuff in the trees to make them look fuller.
Homemade candles held on by wax or pins were used to light the tree up. As you can imagine this practice caused lots of fires.
Candleholders became the next popular way to illuminate the tree.
Around nineteen fifteen beautiful glass balls and lanterns were invented replacing the candles.
The first actual tree lights were invented by Thomas Jefferson yet it was his friend and co-worker Edward Johnson who was the first to show the walnut sized lights off on a tree. The first colors were red, white, and blue.
New York was where the first tree was lit up by the electric lights.
President Cleveland was the first president to light up the Christmas tree in the White House.
String lights became available around 1890. They were not affordable for the general public until 1930. At first because the string of lights were expensive at twelve dollars a string which would average today at around three hundred and fourth many people rented them.
Do you know what the reasoning behind the lighting of the Christmas tree was for? I didn’t until I googled it. From what I read it was to remind us that ‘Jesus Christ is the Light of the World.’ Another thought was that the tree was lit to remind us to be the light in someone else’s life.
Have a joyous holiday season!
Ruthie
