Even before we got married, The Husband and I started a Christmas tradition where we pick out an ornament together to represent the year. I did not have any preconceived notions about what this year’s ornament would be, but once I saw it, I knew it was right.
A few days after he proposed, The Husband went out for Chinese food with some colleagues and his fortune said “You will be married within the year.” We were. We got married nine months later, and we had personalized fortune cookies made up for our guests as favors at our wedding.
This fortune cookie ornament reminded me of that happy fortune.
It also represents my attitude about this past year. I feel so incredibly lucky: lucky to have such a loving and understanding husband, a beautiful daughter, and to have some of the best doctors in the world helping me battle cancer.
It’s also a great talisman to carry forward into the next year. I certainly could use a little more good fortune.
Here’s wishing you all a season of great fortune: love, health, and joy.
Every year for Christmas, my husband and I pick out a Christmas ornament together. We’ve been doing this since before we got married and it’s become a cherished part of our Christmas tradition.
We try to choose something that is representative of our year together, or at least an occasion during the year. And we try to find something that is not too fragile. There have been years, and this might be another one, where this ornament consumes the entirety of our minuscule Christmas budget. But even when money is tight we still find a way to make the holiday special and memorable.
Last year I was pregnant, and we came home with a pickle ornament. I’m quite sure this years ornament will be appropriately baby oriented. I’m also considering extending the tradition to include and ornament for Gem as well. If we get one every year, she’ll have a couple dozen by the time she gets her Masters Degree. {hope.}
Last week I described our tradition of picking out a Christmas ornament together. I am pleased to announce that after a great deal of mall walking and searching, we have located and purchased the perfect ornament to memorialize the year I was pregnant.
I give you
the Christmas Pickle
Once we got home, we found a description on the box, it says: “The pickle is a German symbol of good luck. Traditionally, German parents decorated the tree on Christmas Eve, hiding the pickle ornament last. On Christmas morning, the first child to locate the pickle was rewarded with an extra gift from St. Nicholas.”
Then I went online and discovered there’s a poem that goes along with it:
Every year for Christmas, my husband and I pick out a Christmas ornament together. We’ve been doing this since before we got married, and it’s become a cherished part of our Christmas tradition.
We try to choose something that is representative of our year together, or at least an occasion during the year. And we try to find something that is not too fragile. There have been years, and this might be another one, where this ornament consumes the entirety of our minuscule Christmas budget. But even when money is tight we still find a way to make the holiday special and memorable.
The ornament above was from my birthday last year, and commemorates a trip when Aaron took my mom and I on a cruise out to Blake Island for a Native American feast and dance. We’re still on the lookout for the perfect ornament for this year. Perhaps something baby oriented? We’ll see…
We plan to continue this tradition with the baby as well, buying her an ornament each year that memorializes an event and the year. Then, when she’s grown and ready to go off on her own, she will already have a starter set of Christmas ornaments.
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