On 7/18/2017 6:29 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
> On Monday, July 17, 2017 at 5:17:30 PM UTC-4, Julie Bove wrote:
>
>> Christmas was always my least favorite holiday. Just too stressful. When I
>> was younger, my parents were big into church stuff so Christmas Eve was
>> spent mostly going to church. Then they'd invite people over after the
>> midnight service so by morning, I'd be severely sleep deprived.
>>
>> We were not allowed to put up the tree until 2-3 days before Christmas and
>> it had to come right down after. Sometimes it came down Christmas day. My
>> brother and I were allowed to decorate it but my dad had rules as to what we
>> could and could not do. For instance, I loved icicles but he only let me use
>> so many and they had to be placed just so.
>>
>> But the worst part for me was the gifts.
(snipped the dramatic Christmases)
>
> As soon as you became an adult, the amount of stress caused by Christmas
> was yours to control.
>
> My husband and I put up a tree a week or two after Thanksgiving and take
> it down a week or two after New Year's. We do exactly what we want to
> do, and Christmas is an enjoyable time for both of us.
>
> Cindy Hamilton
>
I have a 16 inch foot tall white glazed ceramic tree my oldest brother
made for our mother when he was 12. It's lit from within by a 40 watt
light bulb. I offered it to my brother after she died and he said no,
you keep it. I set it on a table in the entryway. That's my
"Christmas" tree.

I can't believe Julie made receiving gifts a traumatic experience. OMG,
she asked for but didn't receive? Wow. Maybe they couldn't afford to
give her exactly what she wanted. She sounds very bitter. At her age,
it's kind of weird.

Jill