We really are all one family! So of course we want to share with each other. "Take your brother's need as the measure for your action, and solve the problems of the world. There is no other course."
Yes, that is a "Christmas tree" in the background. Odd to be painting Christmas decorations in the spring? Yes, but most of the family photos I've taken are at Christmas time. And I like the decorations. We didn't celebrate Christmas when I was a kid. I found it embarrassing when kids would ask me what I got for Christmas, so I'd tell them what I got for my birthday, as that was in December, also.
When I was 16 I said to my mom, "Who cares if Jesus wasn't born in December? What's wrong with a Pagan holiday? Christmas is fun!" So we got a tree and decorated it. The first time we saw my Grandmother walking up to our house, we grabbed the tree and shoved it into a closet!
We didn't celebrate Christmas as a religious thing. We did it as fun. It included only our immediate family. A wonderful meal, festive decorations, and one simple present each, beautifully and creatively wrapped. My mom was especially into beautiful, original wrapping. Each present was wrapped differently, but they were all of a theme, and looked gorgeous together.
My mother's family had celebrated Christmas until she was 10. Then her father was taken with some fundamentalist version of Christianity in which they did not celebrate Christmas because it was not the real birth time of Jesus. He made them throw away all their decorations. My grandmother wanted to give them to people who would use them, but he refused, saying he did not want to perpetuate that sinful holiday! My dad's family celebrated it, but in deference to her family, he gave it up when they married. Even though my mom rejected her family's religion, she continued not celebrating Christmas until my declaration.
Today we feel spiritual significance to the holiday, though not religious. We still celebrate with only our immediate family and our kids. A wonderful meal, festive decorations, and we still, with a few exceptions, give only one gift each, usually hand made. My gifts to my family over the last 40 years have mostly all been made by me. I love making them, and I am teaching Olivia to do the same. As she grows up, that will be her choice, but for now she enjoys making her presents.
10"x 14" Watercolour/Gouche/Ink $150. + t & s
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