Christmas Trees

[Donna A 4]

my daughter asked me yesterday when we are putting it up. i said when u come home and help me. so it looks like soon for us. last year i was lazy and only put up a small one. this year its the big one again. it just wasnt the same.

[amal 4]

I'm going to admit something.... i hate putting up the tree As much as I love looking at it and really enjoy the feeling it brings to have it in the house, I'd rather have my toenails pulled out than put it up and take it down...Mainly coz of the way the branches (of the fake trees) feel ..*shivers*

[maggieNomar 0]

It has long been our tradition to put up the tree on Thanksgiving day to enjoy it longer (like someone commented on earlier.) I am happy to be home in time to put up decorations. I had cleared a place in the living room for the tree before I left I thought about putting up the tree when I got home yesterday, but once I looked at the box I decided I was too tired to deal with it! But today, oh today, yes I will put up the tree and some lights and send pics to Omar He is soooo hoping to be here by Christmas.

[StupidJourney 0]

some of the questions don't have choices that apply to me (since we haven't talked about a tree, I wouldn't know how he feels about it), but I really haven't cared much for trees, and found them an annoyance to put up/take down. I like seeing them downtown, or at other people's houses, and that's enough for me. I've never had one since moving out of my parents house, so that's probably why I've never talked with Hamid about it; it's just not important to me. Does that sound bad? I think we will exchange gifts though (well, I already know what I"m getting him at least!)

Edited November 25, 2006 by sonicliz

[noura 0]

I guess I'm kind of a scrooge, too. We haven't talked abt tree/no tree, gifts/no gifts, celebrate or not.... I know that *if* he is here by then, we will spend time w/ my family and "celebrate" in that manner. Otherwise, I never put up a tree - it's too much trouble and I'm just not home enough to enjoy it, nor do I like having to rearrange to find a place to put a tree. I do love the smell, so I often get a fresh wreath and hang that so I can smell it. Sometimes I put out my grandmother's tabletop aluminum tree just for old time's sake, but that's abt it. I usually don't "buy" a lot of gifts, but I do try to make some.... hopefully this year that will happen again. Homemade crackers, jellies, cookies, toffee, etc.... that's what I like to give usually.

Just my nugget of info....

as for the poll - i don't have any answers for it yet.

[mybackpages 0]

some of the questions don't have choices that apply to me (since we haven't talked about a tree, I wouldn't know how he feels about it), but I really haven't cared much for trees, and found them an annoyance to put up/take down. I like seeing them downtown, or at other people's houses, and that's enough for me. I've never had one since moving out of my parents house, so that's probably why I've never talked with Hamid about it; it's just not important to me. Does that sound bad? I think we will exchange gifts though (well, I already know what I"m getting him at least!)

I don't think it sounds bad at all. sometimes there is so much pressure at this time of the year. It's always best to do what you feel comfortable doing.

It's impossible to generalize abou how Muslim husbands feel about Christmas trees, but I know some are quite comfortable with christmas celebrations withthe family but not walking into their own home with a tree. I guess it depends on what te tree symbolizes to the individual. when I talked to my fiance about the tree, he was suprised because he thought of it as a christian thing and was suprised when I said its a cultural thing.

I am not sure how he will feel about the had crafted navitiy scene I have from Italy

[morocco4ever 63]

we had a tree up last year when my husband got here and he was ok with it. this year when I brought up the tree he said..."we have too much time from now to christmas so we can wait" ... I just like the festive feeling and the fun it is to have the house all decorated... I was a bit stunned that he was so quick to blow it off... I am hoping to get itup this weekend enshallah

Oh I don't think you should take it that way at all. Back home they don't put up trees until 15th or so and even that is considered early.

wow..that is late! growing up, we always put the tree up thanksgiving weekend...coz u only have 1 month to enjoy the tree before it is time to put it away again. Same goes for the christmas music. Speaking of that..I'm finding that I feel a bit uncomfortable listening to the traditional Christmas music now...I have always loved Christmas music but its strange now to be singing o come all ye faithful , what child is this, and my all time favorite o holy night...... anyone else dealt with this dilema???

It is so much work to put up the tree that if I did it for only a few days I wouldn't do it at all even though I love the way they look. I am a tree fanatic. I have 4 different selections of decoration. Country tree, traditional red and green tree, Mauve tree, and my personal favorite is my lavender and silver tree. I sewed tree skirts to match each and every one of my themes. I really want to have like a candy cane type tree. Flocked with white lights and red decorations, but I am too tired to buy a fresh, and I don't have a fake flocked tree, so for now that one is put on hold.

Now for Christmas carols. I love singing, and I am especially fond of church hymns. My husband let me know that he doesn't appreciate me singing those any more, so I am assuming this will go along with Christmas songs as well Rather he wants me to start singing songs by Celine Dion. He has this strange idea that since I somewhat resemble her that I must sing like her too....IWISH! Actually I don't see the resemblance, but so many people there have told us that I do.

[honeyblonde 0]

Same goes for the christmas music. Speaking of that..I'm finding that I feel a bit uncomfortable listening to the traditional Christmas music now...I have always loved Christmas music but its strange now to be singing o come all ye faithful , what child is this, and my all time favorite o holy night...... anyone else dealt with this dilema???

I grew up in church and only allowed to listen to church and patriotic music, and I sang in church choir and solos a lot, so I know tons of that music by heart. I haven't been religous for years now but when I want to sing, that is all I know really well. I do find it difficult to keep singing when I come to words that just totally fly in the face of my current beliefs. I've found that if I just modify the words to be general it helps.

With the Christmas songs, it's about the same but I try to just think of them as tradition not religion and that makes it a little easier to deal with.

my daughter asked me yesterday when we are putting it up. i said when u come home and help me.

We haven't had a tree up very much since my sons were grown for that reason. They just don't care and won't help, and I always have finals and then it's just too late to be worth it.

This year I'm still digging through the mess in the living room left over from renovation and not having a workshop for all the tools and materials, so I don't know if I'll clear a spot for a tree in time to be worth putting it up.

[Jenn! 918]

No tree for us! I'm just way too lazy.

[dollface41601 0]

We didnt put one in our house because. well, its simply not our house, its his brothers too....but we did go put up the tree at my dads....and we will exchange gifts and go to my families and stuff...

[amal 4]

I really appreciate all the input on this. I was starting to feel so alone on the subject (especially the singing of christmas carols...I hope I can sort that out since they are my favorite to sing) hehe on any given day during the christmas season it is not unusual to find me singing at the top of my lungs to kenny and dollys Christmas Music ... (It is old but we listened to it faithfully every year over and over from the time I was born and I just can't quit) Right now I'm listening to their "i'll be home with bells on" I LOVE IT!!! When Noor comes home, I don't even play them and it makes me so sad *sigh* and o holy night is my absolute favorite (have you heard josh grobans rendition..will bring tears) .. If the song were about peanut butter I would still love it coz its such a great melody...I can hardly listen to it now without feeling soooooooooo guilty and wrong.... I don't think there's any way to change it to work better so I dunno what to do about that one. uggggg I may just have to explain to him that I like it and he's going to have to deal with it...

oh oh..and another couple songs I just adore are "once upon a christmas" by kenny rogers and dolly parton and "mary did you know" kenny rogers and kathy mattea...if u haven't heard'em and are curious..just let me know..i'll send'em to ya in yahoo or something!!!

ohhhh and RED BARON CHRISTMAS!!!!! snoopy and the red barron!!! sooooooo great!!!

[melly 0]

I'm not a huge fan of country music but have you heard Garth Brooks' Christmas music? It's really nice.

And speaking of Josh Groban, I got my mom concerts tickets for his tour for her Christmas present. I'm so excited. He's got the most beautiful voice. It would be great if he did a whole album just of Christmas music.

[amal 4]

you wouldn't know it from my christmas song list but I'm not a country music fan either. If i hadn't grown up on kenny and dollys christmas RECORD I wouldn't like it so much now. It just brings back my childhood christmas feelings and I don't get that at any other time during the year. I would give my left nostril to see josh groban in concert and I'd give my right nostril to have his christmas cd. They are releasing a new cd of his really soon though! I'll be first in line to buy it! It doesn't matter english, spanish, french or whatever, I can listen to him all day long...Oceano is one of the greatest songs for me....

[doodlebug 3]

I'm slacking this year 'cause we still have our Haloween decorations up!

I usually do the tree, etc. on the first Sunday of Advent and then take it all down on the Epiphany since that is what I was taught. How can it be too early to put it up if it is within Advent? I don't get that.

Anyways since I said my shahada I haven't been in a church so I have no idea when Advent starts or started. So it hasn't crossed my mind when to put the tree up. I'll of course put it up for the kiddo's but I will not put up the religious things that I have such as the nativity. I'm trying to celebrate it as a wintertime holiday as much as I can so that I don't feel bad about it.

I have to put up our blowup snowman in the front lawn too. Talk about a pain in the youknowwhat!!! lol

I thought about the Christmas songs too. I really love Silent night and all of the uber religious ones so that will be a change for me. I will just focus on the Jingle Bells and Rudolf ones instead. One thing that bothers me is that in my kids' school they have the choir celebrate the holidays with a show and they sing Channakuh songs, Kwanza songs and Christmas songs but they never even mention Eid at all. I realize that there are no songs for this but they could at least mention it so that the kids can know why people go to Mecca once/year. Oh well. Maybe in time this will happen.

[amal 4]

I think I'll just put the tree up today while he is at work...Now I just have to find a place to put it ......