Tinsel Tree
Well, we got our white Christmas, 3 inches or so worth. It was sort of perfect, really. It came down, ever so softly, outside our windows from 9- 3. We had our traditional gathering of friends, and in between the charcuterie platter of meats, cheeses and their accompaniments, bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin, bottles of wine and all the stories and laughter, the topic of tinsel made a cameo. Why all the tinsel on trees back then and the scarcity of it these days in trees? For me, it made the tree almost come to life in all its sparkle. All our moms used it. Loaded the trees with it. Bottom line, the consensus was because most trees back then, at least in these parts, tended to be cut right off the land, they took on the look of 'charlie brown' trees. Tinsel filled the open spaces and gave the scrawny branches fullness and a life of its own. These days the frasers, the balsams, the white pines and such are so cultivated, trimmed and 'designed' that they leave little space for the humble tinsel to dangle and pick up the light. It has no place to hang.
I guess you could say that there is 'no room at the inn'.
I say, "Long live Tinsel in all its shining glory!"
Interesting, Birdman...I was just pondering tinsel the other day too. I decided it disappeared because it's probably not considered environmentally friendly nowadays. Few people would take the time to remove the tinsel before tossing out the tree.
ReplyDeleteI have never given tinsel a second's thought. But I thought about it today. Frankly, my friend, I don't care if it tinsels or not. So, your post was helpful 'cause it clarified my feelings (which I knew not) about tinsel.
ReplyDeleteOk, I'll leave now.
we loved tinsel, too. we were dirt poor so we recycled it - plucking it back off and putting it back on the cardboard holder every season to be stored for the next tree. :)
ReplyDeleteAh, all those mysteries of life. I, too, loved the tinsel, but hated the aluminum trees.
ReplyDeleteWe still see some tinsel around here...
ReplyDeleteI was in a no-tinsel family. It seemed crazy to spend scarce money on something that was going to be thrown out in a week or so. We weren't sustainability freaks way back then, just living on a tight budget with little room for unnecessary stuff. A tree was necessary, tinsel wasn't.
ReplyDeleteThat's about what we received here too.
ReplyDeleteWe always had lots of tinsel on our trees when we were growing up. You are probably right. Sometimes our trees were a little misshaped and the tinsel did help. Your dinner sounds fabulous!
ReplyDeletePffft. 55° here. Not nice. No tinsel but I used to have some as a kid at my grandparent's!
ReplyDeleteI have some twisted tin tinsel made the very old fashioned way and it makes a huge difference on the tree - it is the final touch of glitter!
ReplyDeletelong time no comment.
ReplyDeleteI think that photo exemplifies the stories and laughter that you guys had.
There is some artist who does detailed but barren aluminum trees. There is one beside the St. Louis Art Museum and another, I think, in Union Square in NYC. Yours is better.
ReplyDeleteTinsel and steel snow shovels, gone with mixed emotion...
ReplyDeleteI loved the tinsel & we too took it off strand by strand to save for each year. I think it was in the 70's that it was determined to be bad for the environment...But there is a lot worse out there...I think the scrawny tree theory makes sense...Odd, now that I think about trees being Purebreds. The Christmas day snow was quiet. Today's snow is shouting: Blizzard! (I'm loving it)
ReplyDeleteI'm looking at our tree as I'm typing this Birdman and I'm sorry to say..no tinsel, I ca't remember exactly when it was 'phased' out!! Still looks good though.
ReplyDelete