Christmas Traditions - Baumgart Style!

“It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!".... Pretty soon, the lyrics of this song and many others will be heard on all radio stations.

After all the frenzy of unpacking fifteen Christmas boxes from the attic, the house is a Christmas wonderland. An 8 feet tall red and gold-trimmed Christmas tree stood resplendent in the family room bearing all the vintage collections since 1982. There are photos of the girls when they were still babies; there were homemade ornaments that the girls used to bring home from Pre-school and many handcrafted trims mixed in with the expensive ornate collectibles. There isn't a single branch of this tree that's left untrimmed. The mantle next to it is arrayed with Nutcrackers that I have been collecting all these years. Next, on a special gold table, stands the favorite ceramic Nativity set that has withstood all the hurdles of packing and unpacking throughout our constant relocations. Then there's our Victorian Christmas tree in the living room which is richly adorned with gold/white and pearl ornaments. This was always called "Mama's tree" because it holds all the ornaments that I love: fuzzy snowballs, flights of fancy cream-colored birdies, soft and plush bearded Santas, pearl-studded stars, all my soft and silky snowmen and snowdrops. It is quite a sight to behold. Within a few hours with all the helping hands, our home was transformed into a Christmas wonderland.

Then Kristi came down for the view and said, "Where is the 'parol' Mom?...It won't look the same without it!" I then realized that even though the girls are now teenagers, they still value the tradition we have began when they were little.

"Parol" is a traditional Filipino Christmas decoration, a five point star-shaped Christmas lantern. Originally made of thin bamboo frames and covered with colored cellophane or with rice paper also known as Japanese paper or "papel de Japon". It has two tails that serve as the rays of the star. "Parol" reminds the Filipino Christians of the star of Bethlehem that guided the Three Wise Men on their way in search of Baby Jesus. Every Filipino home has one hanging somewhere in the house, mostly by the window or outside the door.

Our "parol" is made from Capiz shells, shaped like a star and stands guard at our front foyer so anyone who comes to the house passes by it. Amidst the commotion I forgot our emblem of Christmas tradition. I went right back to the attic and searched for that one special flat box that holds the treasure that will light up our home and remind us of that beautiful Christmas story of how three wise men followed that star to find the Messiah born in the manger to save mankind.

Each family has different Christmas traditions. Whatever yours is, it will always be a special moment when as a family we embrace it. Since my husband is from Germany, we usually have an advent wreath with four candles on it. A candle is lit every Sunday until the four candles are all lit Christmas evening. Each person has also an advent calendar filled with chocolates so one gets a treat each day. We always have a festive meal on the eve of Christmas. We have special a dinner with everyone's favorite dish which we all prepare together. Each family member contributes a special or favorite dish. The kitchen becomes the center of activity, and what a mess we create by the end of the day! But the meal is always worth it. We use all the special china and finery and the tablescape is always out of this world. Last year, it was a winter wonderland, complete with black forest trees, some cabins and snow all over. Then after dinner, we exchange gifts taking turns in handing out special inexpensive gifts as tokens of our appreciation for each other...we also write notes to each other. There are always surprises and the "unexpecteds". On Christmas day, we spend it with relatives or special friends who live nearby. Our trees and "parol" stays lit till my birthday, the 7th of January. That too, is another family tradition.

By Raylene Baumgart