Can a tree of remembrance really bring peace this season of Christmas? Many people experience the Blue Christmas that Elvis sang about because their loved ones have died and aren’t physically present. That is when Christmas can become depressing because everyone else seems to be feeling up and you are feeling down. So how can you cope and experience the joy that Christmas promises?

Let me tell you a story that may help you remember a deceased loved one in a positive way. In the fall of 1999, we discovered that my wife’s father, Bill was diagnosed with cancer. He kept fighting the fact that he was very ill and battled with courage. Right before Thanksgiving of that year, we met with his social worker and hospital staff to learn that he was dying.

He finally admitted that he was sick and entered into hospice. The doctors thought he would last six months. But he died two weeks later, on the Feast of Little Christmas, which is celebrated on December 6 every year. That year was a very sad time as Christmas approached.

Here is the truth that we discovered. When someone you know and love passes on, you don’t have to dwell on how she or he looked on the death bed. You remember how he or she lived during life. During his life, Bill gave us a present every year – his love of Christmas. You see, Bill loved real Christmas trees. Every year, even though it cost more, he bought a real tree to decorate in his living room. He hung with lots of Christmas lights on that real tree.

On the day after Bill died, we went to Wisconsin to plan his funeral arrangements. On the way, we drove past a semi-trailer from Tree of Life, a commercial company. We thought it was one of those special signs that Bill was alive in a new way, since Bill died on Little Christmas and this was the time to put up a Christmas tree. Since he died, every year we buy and put up a real Christmas tree and hang the Christmas lights by December 6.

At Christmas, you can remember your deceased loved ones. A tree symbolizes life. Every Christmas, people put up a real or artificial Christmas tree to remember the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden. A living tree memorial gift at Christmas time is one of the most beautiful ways to show your love and care to families and friends who have lost a loved one.

One very peaceful way to remember deceased loved ones during the Christmas season is to buy and decorate trees for them. In your own home, you can set up a Christmas tree to remember them at this time of year. Then, for the rest of the year, you can buy a memorial tree to remember them for a lifetime.

Christmas trees last only a few weeks, but a real tree lasts a life time. If you want to remember your loved ones at Christmas, put up a Christmas tree in their memory. Then, buy a tree of remembrance to celebrate Christmas with them all year round, throughout the entire year – year after year.

Many people love Christmas, but have they ever stopped to wonder how Christmas was celebrated in the 1800s? There were many famous periods that have transcended into current Christmas decorations and customs, but one more so than Victorian Christmas traditions.

The Victorian Christmas Was Elegance Personified

To understand what Victorian Christmases were all about, one must first have a basic understanding of the Victorian period. The Victorian period refers to the long reign of Queen Victoria, who ruled England for over sixty years. The Victorian era was a time of morals, but it also was a time of unique decorations, none more so that the ones for Victorian Christmases.

The traditional Victorian Christmas involved the tree being brought by sleigh to the home. The tree was then set up, usually in the sitting room or parlor. White candles were strategically placed throughout the tree, and lit at night. The lighting of the tree became a tradition within itself.

In addition to the white candles, the tree was adorned with ribbons, usually maroon in color. The top of the tree was often in the form of either an angel, or a cascading ribbon. Nowadays you see this effect in houses that choose to decorate their trees in the elegance of the Victorian manner.

The family would gather together in front of the lit Christmas tree to open their presents. If you have heard the phrase “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire,” then you would be interested to know that this was a custom that many Victorian families partook of.

At the Victorian Christmas dinner, the food that was served was usually the Christmas goose. You have probably heard references to the Christmas goose in literature from that period. The most anticipated part of the meal was the plum pudding. In fact, a little ceremony was made out of lighting the pudding so that it would be warm.

There is another Victorian tradition that has been passed down, and that is in regards to Christmas crackers. People in the United States now get those crackers as party favors for any time of the year, but in England crackers are still most popular at Christmas. When the sides of the cracker are pulled, a pop is heard, and a little gift falls out.

 If you would like more information on how holidays were celebrated during the Victorian era, all you have to do is go to your local bookstore and look for the books. If you have an y local museums that represent the Victorian era, be sure to visit them. You are sure to find excellent information with the proper research.