Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Circa 1955




I was looking through some old photos and found this image of a Christmas tree decoration that I had when I was a child. Its quite innocuous, just a simple plastic 1950's reindeer. I remember that the two halves split allowing access to the inner contents of little green and red candies - tiny little balls that filled it and made it a bit psychedelic perhaps 10 years before its time.

The second image is of me, taken at Christmas 1955, when I was 19 months old. I seem to be guarding my doll, an elf of some sort and setting a baleful gaze at someone else who may have had their eye on it too. The photo is the circa of the reindeer ornament and we've both survived the last 50 years, even if one of us has lost their centre core.

I don't know why it was saved from those years but it turned up in some decorations received from my mother's house years ago and it has decorated the tree ever since. My whole tree has animals on it. Not silly cartoon animals, but ones based as best as they can be on real animals. Bears, squirrels, moose, dogs, cats and birds all find their way into the branches amidst fragrant boughs and tiny white lights that make the silver icicles sparkle and turn the room at night into a different world.

No matter how old you are, there still is something magical about a Christmas tree lit at night in a darkened room. And something more magical still to find among the ornaments a memory.

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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Lovely post. Your memories are always such a delight to read.