Yule Planning & Tree LightingS
Along the Klickitat River. Family hike 11/25/2023
I have to admit that I am not really a Christmas time type of gal. Halloween has always been my bread and butter. However, as I get older I find that I have been able to find more joy in the holiday season. (Que that scene from The Grinch where his heart starts growing…lol). The main reason I have been able to finally tap into this holiday spirit is because of the fact that I have stepped outside of the mainstream and started writing my own holiday traditions. That is why, as I mentioned in my November Musings post, that I started celebrating Yule a few years ago. Yule feels so much more authentic to me and it feels wonderful to embrace the more natural aspects of the holiday season.
That all being said…we do live in a Christmas culture and I can’t help but find myself fawning over light displays and laughing at funny inflatable yard decorations. A neighbor of mine had an inflatable Santa on a jet ski last year. That might be one of the best inflatable decorations I have seen to date. I personally do not decorate the outside of my house for Christmas or Yule. Mostly because I put so much effort into my ever expanding Halloween display and I’m always a little burnt out after October. But this year, I found myself toying around with the idea of doing something.
A couple months ago the local museum shared a black and white picture of a tree lighting the town used to do. I’m not sure when the last tree lighting took place, but there certainly hasn’t been one in all the years I have been here. Which, I guess you can take with a grain of salt because I’ve only lived here 5 years now. But I saw the post and immediately commented that it would be a wonderful thing to bring back to town. No matter how big of a Grinch I have been during the holiday’s, I have always loved a good tree lighting ceremony. I have seen the tree lighting at Town Center Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri. My boys and I have traveled to Leavenworth, WA for their annual Bavarian style Christmas celebration and tree lighting and my oldest minion and I have even feasted our eyes on the Christmas tree display at Rockefeller Center in New York City.
The Klickitat Washington Community Christmas Tree. Picture courtesy the Klickitat Historical Museum Facebook Page.
I waited patiently to see if anyone else might take up the mantel of bringing the tradition back to town and no one else took the bait. So I approached the town council and now, here I am, planning the local holiday tree lighting ceremony. And can I just say…it has brought out a whole new side of me. I am determined to have the best lit Christmas tree the town has ever seen. I want so many lights, it blinds people as they drive by. I don’t know how many people will attend the ceremony. We are a tiny town of maybe 250 residents. But I am hoping that it will add a little sparkle and joy to everyone’s holiday season. And it will keep me connected to my community. Something that I struggle with around holiday’s that I am not particularly fond of. Christmas does not carry too many fond memories for me so I am hoping, as I continue to age and expand my world view, that I can make memories that will help me to look forward to this time of year.
Beyond that, I am still diligently working through my Yule plans. Garland has been hung. Dried oranges have been strung up and placed along the garland. The tree is up and several other projects are under way. If you are interested in how I put together my garland or dried oranges, please check out my TikTok account. I will also start uploading YouTube videos soon. I guess you could say that something in me has changed this year. I am looking forward to the season. I haven’t felt this way in a long time and I am almost certain that embracing Yule has been the catalyst for this change in feelings.