Nothing says it is Christmas like the tree that we annually put up and decorate in our homes every holiday season.

Many put up the tree even before Thanksgiving these days to jump-start that good feeling for the upcoming Christmas holiday. You will likely find some sort of Christmas tree in every home and in most businesses and offices.

My wife Vicki and I do not have the energy we once did, so we have only put up a small table-size tree for the last couple of years. In fact, due to my wife’s recent health issues, our daughter Tina put up the tree this year. We still have our bigger tree stored in the garage and plenty of decorations. But the small “Charlie Brown” tree suits us just fine these days. I put up a few outdoor decorations, but nothing like in the past.

This got me thinking about growing up and the Christmas trees of years past.

We had a variety of trees in our house at Nolan when I grew up in the ‘60s and ‘70s.

Like most everyone in the ‘60s, we were still putting up a live Christmas tree every year. We had a few token store-bought decorations, but I can recall my sister Karen and I making some when we were younger. I can even recall stringing popcorn one year to use as garland.

Somewhere along the line, Dad bought a couple of strings of lights with red, blue, green and yellow bulbs to help accentuate the tree. That thrilled us as kids.

My mom began working at Jenny’s Dress Shop in Williamson as I got older since I was the youngest. I was able to come home from school and take care of myself, do my homework, and do whatever until they came home from work. Her meager wages helped the family pay bills and buy a few more things.

One year, in the late ‘60s, she decided to buy one of those new-fangled silver aluminum Christmas trees at GC Murphy’s in Williamson. There was a multi-colored wheel that spun around and shone on the shiny 6-foot tree that sat in front of our picture window. We used that for a couple of years, but as I got older I decided I wanted a traditional real pine tree. I had watched a show on television where a family went out and cut their own tree down. So I got the wild hair that me and my dad should do that.

So I got my way. We got permission to go up a hollow and onto some land to find the perfect tree, cut it down, strap it on top of our car with rope and bring it home. That was one of the prettiest Christmas trees I can recall that we ever had. I guess it just meant more to me that my dad and I spent time together and went out in the hills and cut it down.

Of course anyone who has ever had a “real” tree knows that you have to water it and continue to sweep up dry pine needles. It can be a bit messy. If you have a cat in the house that can be even more of an experience as they like to climb them and bat the decorations off the tree with their paws.

So I can recall our next artificial tree was a green one. It was nice for that time frame. We used it for a few years. I guess in the long run, you can save money not having to buy a tree every season.

But the Christmas tree itself means so much to families, no matter what kind you have or how big your tree might be.

The Christmas tree tradition originates in Germany. They made decorations and even sweet treats to place on the tree as decorations. The tradition was brought west by immigrants. The Christmas tree became very common in the United States in the early 19th century.

Since the early 20th century, it has become common in many cities, towns, and department stores to put up public Christmas trees outdoors. Many towns and organizations hold an annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony to welcome the season. It usually goes along with a parade and other activities in most towns.

In years past, many did not put up their Christmas tree until a week or so before the actual holiday. Some cultures did not put up and decorate their trees until Christmas Eve!

Trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter. Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine, spruce, and fir trees.

But of course families getting together and placing gifts under the tree are now a tradition. It’s a time for us to be thankful and spend time with family and friends. We enjoy a holiday meal, special snacks and desserts – just in time to make that New Year’s resolution to lose a few pounds at the start of January.

However, we should always remember the true meaning of Christmas.

The decorations, gifts, food and get-togethers are great, but we need to get back to those more innocent days of our youth. We need to think about the true meaning of Christmas while sitting around our tree, no matter what kind or size tree you have.

Christmas is an annual holiday celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on Dec. 25. So always remember what the holiday is truly about and share it with your family and friends.

(Kyle Lovern is a longtime journalist in the Tug Valley. He is now a retired freelance writer and columnist for the Mountain Citizen.)