The Perfect Christmas Tree

9th December 2021 Mrs Annie R Teo

 

It is December again, and we can feel Christmas coming; at least, that’s how we feel at our weekly Pippin art class. This time we were given a Christmas tree to paint with acrylic and embellish with clay, pearls and, of course, some sparkles we would not have done without. 

 

There are four students in the class, and as each of us progressed, we literally poured our heart into our work (Oxymoron!) I could not help but notice the difference in style and colours. I would say that Beena and I are a bit more conventional with our choice of colours: both our trees are green. Shedrin and Voonie belong to a younger generation (or perhaps a couple of them?) and ventured quite naturally into bright pink, yellow, and creative shades of green to deliver unique and festive trees. All this brought me to reflect on what a Christmas tree is supposed to look like.

 

In Germany and northern Europe, the Christmas tree is an evergreen conifer (never naked through winter), fir or pine. When snowing outside in December, most trees only have bare branches to offer. Bringing a fir tree into the home certainly provides hope for the rebirth of Nature, not to mention a wonderful scent.

 

Evergreen trees have been brought into the home since ancient and pre-Christian times. Still, around the sixteenth century, the present tradition spread in Germany. By then, ornaments were hung onto the branches: paper flowers, dried fruit such as apples, tinsel, and later garlands and candy canes. The star became a representation of the Angel Gabriel or of the star of Bethlehem. The tree brightened up the home and the spirits of its dwellers and visitors.

 

So, would you guess which one of us painted each tree? But hey! This is art! But still? Each painted the Christmas tree based on one’s feelings, and each of our trees burst with beauty and shine. Their bright colours spread cheer and hope while reaching for the sky and holding a star. We all painted with our hearts, so how indeed could we go wrong? I painted my tree for my grandson to keep. I know he’ll love it; we both believe in magic, and there is so much of that around Christmas! The magic of love. I recently read that “All Christmas trees are perfect“, and they are!                         

Thank you, Shedrin, Beena, Voonie and even me, for letting me post your perfect Christmas trees.

6 thoughts on “The Perfect Christmas Tree

  1. I have always wondered what the relationship of xmas tree🎄 is to do with Christmas…
    Whatever it is .. decorating a tree for Christmas is very interesting…esp for children.
    I lost my interest in decorating or putting up a tree after my children left home… they used to love making decorations for the tree… I am glad this ritual exists…brings people together to open presents and have fun…

    1. Hi Shobha

      It is true many of us may not know much about the origin of many traditions. But winter can be very depressing and you only see white and feel the bitter cold. I think these coniferous trees are green and produce a scent. So maybe that is what attracted people. But why cut them and bring them into the homes, am not sure. But humans love any celebration. That gives them a purpose of doing something for that celebration. Just postulating:). Like me, I love to have meals with friends, Doesn’t matter if it is in a hawker stall or restaurant, it is all about meeting up and chatting, Am sure it is what we all look forward to right?

      1. Hi Beena!
        There used to me much less people for many more trees. Bringing a tree into your home brought in colour and scent for all to enjoy. The same can be said about dried bouquets of leaves and flowers or even dried slices of fruit or full oranges with cloves. Happiness in the home comes in many ways though our senses: through the touch while creating something special, through our eyes and our nose and even our ears. All these emotional triggers! I would say that the Christmas tree stands on the bright side of our lives.

        1. Yes you are right. There were more trees than human. Hopefully for every tree that is cut for our celebration 2 new ones are grown😄😄😄

  2. I wish to describe a bit more the artwork that the class did. It was using clay that air dries and it is mixed with acrylic paint. Then we make those decorations using another type of clay ( not sure) and stick them with glue. It is not easy as we have to use a palette knife to create the Xmas tree design. I am not so used to palette knives :(. Then we can add on pearls and another sparkle to create that festive look. I used gold paint and clay modelled decorations, They are not so easy to create as they are so tiny.

    Hope this would help to explain our art classwork. We have a lot of fun as our teachers are very helpful:).

  3. Just to add one more thought towards our Christmas tree. Although it was bound to become a success with them, bringing a tree into the house was not done with them in mind. I see the tree as a happy expression of a family and the family may not include children. In my case, and for a few years, my children could not come home for Christmas, but I still got our tree (artificial) out of the store and decorated it in my own taste or logic, and with ornaments I had been making or collecting for decades. I sort of brought my family together in the room, at least in spirit. I think it would have been so sad not to have our tall green friend standing bright in our living room. Oh, Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree!

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