One day in the USA - how I prepare for Christmas
Hello! My name is Shannon and this is my third post in the community. I continue to show you scenes from ordinary American life, but this time with a holiday theme!
I don't like artificial things. Women with too much make-up, fake boobs, fake plants, fake flowers....my eyes see no beauty in such things. To feel the essence of something, it's necessary to smell, touch and hold it in a natural state. Fake boobs are hard, artificial flowers and plants have no scent or texture and thus these things evoke no emotion in me. Every year since childhood, my family goes on a holiday adventure to a local farm to cut a fresh Christmas tree for the holidays. We made our annual trip on 5 December, and today I'll show you how we prepare for the busy Christmas season. Under the cut, 37 photos. Perhaps they will put you in the holiday spirit. :)
1. In the morning, we awoke very early to visit Quantico National Cemetery, a military burial site for fallen soldiers and veterans. Btw, do you recognize the image on my phone? This is a photo I took in Suzdal, Russia last winter. :)
2. My family attends a charity event at Quantico National Cemetery each year, where hundreds of volunteers place fresh Christmas wreaths on military graves. This is a massive job, but with so many volunteers the entire landscape of the cemetery changes in only an hour. Otherwise white and boring tombstones are transformed into a colorful sea of green and red, with the fragrant scent of pine from the wreaths blowing in the wind.
3. People of all ages, colors and social status volunteer to decorate the graves, and many companies contribute money so that thousands of wreaths can be purchased. This year, there were enough donations to purchase over 9,000 of them. The charity was started by a father who lost his young son when he died in a helicopter crash while serving as a Marine in Djibouti, Africa. My young nephew helped decorate this year, and placed a wreath on the grave of my grandmother and grandfather, both of whom served in World War II. In general, there is great respect for military men and women in the USA, even if Americans do not believe in the foreign wars in which they serve. Many of the volunteers are active or retired military personnel.
4. After the wreath laying ceremony, eveyone was hungry so we stopped for a typical American breakfast in a restaurant. Let me remind you that this is a restaurant meal, and most Americans don't consume such a huge breakfast every morning. Ordinary foods for breakfast include fruit, bagels, egg or sausage sandwiches, something quick and fast before going to work in the early morning. On the weekends, we have more time and sometimes go for pancakes or omlettes at a restauant.
5. After breakfast, we began to search for our Christmas tree. For the past few years, we've gone to this farm called "Joe's Christmas Trees." It's set in a rural area, but a residential neighborhood sits adjacent to the farm.
6. Visitors park in a large lot and then hop on a tractor and ride out to the field. The tractor is driven by a cowboy, American style. :)
7. There's always a lot of people, particularly on the weekends so it's sometimes necessary to wait 15 - 30 minutes to get a spot on the tractor. Or, you can just walk to the field but it's a long hike.
8. Usually the ride is smooth, but there is some uneven terrain and gravel roads on which the ride becomes quite bumpy. All part of the adventure, although at one point my mom and I almost fell off the tractor. :)
9. The farm is huge, with a large variety of trees in every shape and size. You can pick from pine, spruce and fir trees.
10. I always pick pine or spruce trees with very sturdy branches. First, the scent is excellent! My whole apartment smells like Christmas for over a month. Second, the branches hold heavy ornaments and the needles last a long time so the tree is quite durable. Christmas trees resemble my men - sturdy, strong and capable of holding beautiful things for a long time. :)
11. For many families, there's a long debate over which tree to pick. Some prefer short and fat, some tall and slender. A lot of factors in the equation.
12. I watched this family for a long time. In the end, everyone was happy with the tree selection, and the little girl has a wonderful hat! As you know, I'm a big fan of them.
13. Great fun for kids to run around the farm and help with the activities. My nephew likes to pretend to help my dad with manly things. On this day, he carried the saw around while we searched for the most awesome tree.
14. Of course, dad does all the sawing. Not an easy task as the tree trunks are often quite thick. What would I do without him? I don't know! He often comes to the rescue, fixing everything from my car to toilet. A man of all trades.
15. My parents tree. It looks small but once it's placed in the tree stand and the topper is lit, it appears much larger.
16. I spoke to this little girl. It was the first time her family decided to get a Christmas tree. They knew absolutely nothing about them, and they asked the cowboy a lot of questions.
17. A mom captures the momentous occasion. In fact, they picked a very ugly tree!! But memories still remain for the entire family to cherish. Picking the tree, being out in nature, riding the tractor - it's all part of the fun.
18. Sometimes it's difficult to keep track of little boys here. There are huge fields in which they can run wild, picking up sticks or jumping in piles of dirt or puddles of water from a recent rain. I think little boys around the globe share a passion for such adventures. They are all the same, with so much energy and usually a hint of mischief.
19. It's my mission to promote cute dogs on LiveJournal! Too many cats on RuNet, and I love dogs. At the Christmas tree farm, there are a lot of them running around. This one even posed for a photo. :)
20. Once the selection is made, you load the tree back on the tractor and journey to the front of the farm to pay.
21. A young toddler completely attached to mobile device. Something sad about this scene, too busy looking at the phone to even see the beauty and life around him.
22. My nephew's pick! We loaded it on the tractor and were on our way back to the farmer's house to pay.
23. My neighbor on the tractor ride back. Come on - he's so cute!! How can you not love dogs?
24. The cowboy feeds every tree through this machine to bale them. Hard working guy, responsible for a lot of tasks on the farm.
25. A young helper ties them tighter, then people place them on top of SUVs or on the flat bed of pick-up trucks and carry them home to decorate.
26. Here you can drink hot cider, buy fresh Christmas wreaths and pay for your purchase. You will see on the sign that only cash or checks are accepted. It's very unusual in America to not take electronic payment.
27. Price of trees. If you don't want to cut your own tree, there are plenty of locations where you can buy them. In home improvement stores, Walmart (our version of Auchan), or individual sellers on the side of the road or in shopping centers, etc. Wide availability everywhere. The prices are usually about the same. But where's the fun in that? I prefer to go to cut it myself, and support local farmers.
28. Once the tree is home, the decorating begins. I have a lot of interesting hand painted and glass blown ornaments given to me by my mom. Beautiful objects.
29.
30. A few years ago, my mom's oldest sister passed away. She was a huge fan of Christmas and a collector of angels. This hand-woven ornament hangs on my tree in her memory.
31. She also had one of the most amazing Christmas villages I've ever seen. It sits around the tree and now her children and grandchildren take the time to set it up each year in her honor. When my sister and I were younger, my dad put a steam engine Lionel train around our tree. He had a similar village around the train set, filled with little cafes, benches, shops, diners and tiny people.
32. I have a lot of childhood ornaments given to me by my parents and other relatives. This one is from 1982!! Some of you probably weren't even born then. Unfortunately, the artisan was a bad speller and my name on the ornament is "Shannan" not "Shannon." :)) The ornament still hangs on my tree each year.
33. It was a busy day and after decorating the tree, it was already evening so we were ready to eat again.
34. I quickly ate a salad in a local restaurant. More plans on this busy day, so there was no time for a big meal.
35. After dinner, I met some family and friends to view a big holiday ice show in Washington, DC. Each year, the most talented ice carvers in the world create a beautiful Christmas-themed display. The artistic creations change each year, but they are always colorful and festive. Sometimes you forget that you're looking at ice, but the freezing temperatures inside the building quickly remind you.
36. At the end of this day, I was exhausted! Christmas time in the USA is magical! It's a visual delight to simply drive around neighborhoods and see all of the decorated homes, visit local town squares, or just walk in shopping malls with elaborate trees, garland and wreaths.
37. I returned home around midnight, and went directly to bed.
I believe family traditions are very important, no matter how old we get or how busy our lives become. It's important to always remember your roots and respect them, to honor those who began the Christmas traditions which have passed from generation to generation in a family. This is why I hang family ornaments on my tree, and why I love the holiday season. It gives us yet another reason to gather and celebrate!
Does your family have special holiday traditions?
Happy New Year from the USA! :)
I don't like artificial things. Women with too much make-up, fake boobs, fake plants, fake flowers....my eyes see no beauty in such things. To feel the essence of something, it's necessary to smell, touch and hold it in a natural state. Fake boobs are hard, artificial flowers and plants have no scent or texture and thus these things evoke no emotion in me. Every year since childhood, my family goes on a holiday adventure to a local farm to cut a fresh Christmas tree for the holidays. We made our annual trip on 5 December, and today I'll show you how we prepare for the busy Christmas season. Under the cut, 37 photos. Perhaps they will put you in the holiday spirit. :)
1. In the morning, we awoke very early to visit Quantico National Cemetery, a military burial site for fallen soldiers and veterans. Btw, do you recognize the image on my phone? This is a photo I took in Suzdal, Russia last winter. :)
2. My family attends a charity event at Quantico National Cemetery each year, where hundreds of volunteers place fresh Christmas wreaths on military graves. This is a massive job, but with so many volunteers the entire landscape of the cemetery changes in only an hour. Otherwise white and boring tombstones are transformed into a colorful sea of green and red, with the fragrant scent of pine from the wreaths blowing in the wind.
3. People of all ages, colors and social status volunteer to decorate the graves, and many companies contribute money so that thousands of wreaths can be purchased. This year, there were enough donations to purchase over 9,000 of them. The charity was started by a father who lost his young son when he died in a helicopter crash while serving as a Marine in Djibouti, Africa. My young nephew helped decorate this year, and placed a wreath on the grave of my grandmother and grandfather, both of whom served in World War II. In general, there is great respect for military men and women in the USA, even if Americans do not believe in the foreign wars in which they serve. Many of the volunteers are active or retired military personnel.
4. After the wreath laying ceremony, eveyone was hungry so we stopped for a typical American breakfast in a restaurant. Let me remind you that this is a restaurant meal, and most Americans don't consume such a huge breakfast every morning. Ordinary foods for breakfast include fruit, bagels, egg or sausage sandwiches, something quick and fast before going to work in the early morning. On the weekends, we have more time and sometimes go for pancakes or omlettes at a restauant.
5. After breakfast, we began to search for our Christmas tree. For the past few years, we've gone to this farm called "Joe's Christmas Trees." It's set in a rural area, but a residential neighborhood sits adjacent to the farm.
6. Visitors park in a large lot and then hop on a tractor and ride out to the field. The tractor is driven by a cowboy, American style. :)
7. There's always a lot of people, particularly on the weekends so it's sometimes necessary to wait 15 - 30 minutes to get a spot on the tractor. Or, you can just walk to the field but it's a long hike.
8. Usually the ride is smooth, but there is some uneven terrain and gravel roads on which the ride becomes quite bumpy. All part of the adventure, although at one point my mom and I almost fell off the tractor. :)
9. The farm is huge, with a large variety of trees in every shape and size. You can pick from pine, spruce and fir trees.
10. I always pick pine or spruce trees with very sturdy branches. First, the scent is excellent! My whole apartment smells like Christmas for over a month. Second, the branches hold heavy ornaments and the needles last a long time so the tree is quite durable. Christmas trees resemble my men - sturdy, strong and capable of holding beautiful things for a long time. :)
11. For many families, there's a long debate over which tree to pick. Some prefer short and fat, some tall and slender. A lot of factors in the equation.
12. I watched this family for a long time. In the end, everyone was happy with the tree selection, and the little girl has a wonderful hat! As you know, I'm a big fan of them.
13. Great fun for kids to run around the farm and help with the activities. My nephew likes to pretend to help my dad with manly things. On this day, he carried the saw around while we searched for the most awesome tree.
14. Of course, dad does all the sawing. Not an easy task as the tree trunks are often quite thick. What would I do without him? I don't know! He often comes to the rescue, fixing everything from my car to toilet. A man of all trades.
15. My parents tree. It looks small but once it's placed in the tree stand and the topper is lit, it appears much larger.
16. I spoke to this little girl. It was the first time her family decided to get a Christmas tree. They knew absolutely nothing about them, and they asked the cowboy a lot of questions.
17. A mom captures the momentous occasion. In fact, they picked a very ugly tree!! But memories still remain for the entire family to cherish. Picking the tree, being out in nature, riding the tractor - it's all part of the fun.
18. Sometimes it's difficult to keep track of little boys here. There are huge fields in which they can run wild, picking up sticks or jumping in piles of dirt or puddles of water from a recent rain. I think little boys around the globe share a passion for such adventures. They are all the same, with so much energy and usually a hint of mischief.
19. It's my mission to promote cute dogs on LiveJournal! Too many cats on RuNet, and I love dogs. At the Christmas tree farm, there are a lot of them running around. This one even posed for a photo. :)
20. Once the selection is made, you load the tree back on the tractor and journey to the front of the farm to pay.
21. A young toddler completely attached to mobile device. Something sad about this scene, too busy looking at the phone to even see the beauty and life around him.
22. My nephew's pick! We loaded it on the tractor and were on our way back to the farmer's house to pay.
23. My neighbor on the tractor ride back. Come on - he's so cute!! How can you not love dogs?
24. The cowboy feeds every tree through this machine to bale them. Hard working guy, responsible for a lot of tasks on the farm.
25. A young helper ties them tighter, then people place them on top of SUVs or on the flat bed of pick-up trucks and carry them home to decorate.
26. Here you can drink hot cider, buy fresh Christmas wreaths and pay for your purchase. You will see on the sign that only cash or checks are accepted. It's very unusual in America to not take electronic payment.
27. Price of trees. If you don't want to cut your own tree, there are plenty of locations where you can buy them. In home improvement stores, Walmart (our version of Auchan), or individual sellers on the side of the road or in shopping centers, etc. Wide availability everywhere. The prices are usually about the same. But where's the fun in that? I prefer to go to cut it myself, and support local farmers.
28. Once the tree is home, the decorating begins. I have a lot of interesting hand painted and glass blown ornaments given to me by my mom. Beautiful objects.
29.
30. A few years ago, my mom's oldest sister passed away. She was a huge fan of Christmas and a collector of angels. This hand-woven ornament hangs on my tree in her memory.
31. She also had one of the most amazing Christmas villages I've ever seen. It sits around the tree and now her children and grandchildren take the time to set it up each year in her honor. When my sister and I were younger, my dad put a steam engine Lionel train around our tree. He had a similar village around the train set, filled with little cafes, benches, shops, diners and tiny people.
32. I have a lot of childhood ornaments given to me by my parents and other relatives. This one is from 1982!! Some of you probably weren't even born then. Unfortunately, the artisan was a bad speller and my name on the ornament is "Shannan" not "Shannon." :)) The ornament still hangs on my tree each year.
33. It was a busy day and after decorating the tree, it was already evening so we were ready to eat again.
34. I quickly ate a salad in a local restaurant. More plans on this busy day, so there was no time for a big meal.
35. After dinner, I met some family and friends to view a big holiday ice show in Washington, DC. Each year, the most talented ice carvers in the world create a beautiful Christmas-themed display. The artistic creations change each year, but they are always colorful and festive. Sometimes you forget that you're looking at ice, but the freezing temperatures inside the building quickly remind you.
36. At the end of this day, I was exhausted! Christmas time in the USA is magical! It's a visual delight to simply drive around neighborhoods and see all of the decorated homes, visit local town squares, or just walk in shopping malls with elaborate trees, garland and wreaths.
37. I returned home around midnight, and went directly to bed.
I believe family traditions are very important, no matter how old we get or how busy our lives become. It's important to always remember your roots and respect them, to honor those who began the Christmas traditions which have passed from generation to generation in a family. This is why I hang family ornaments on my tree, and why I love the holiday season. It gives us yet another reason to gather and celebrate!
Does your family have special holiday traditions?
Happy New Year from the USA! :)