My father’s mother used to love Christmas. She celebrated it on Christmas Eve, in the German tradition. Her favorite Christmas carol was “Silent Night,” also from the German tradition.
In this photo, Grandma sits with Aunt Marge.
And here Aunt Marge is with a silly young man. (Yup, that looks like Dad!)
In Chicago, she kept a traditional Christmas tree (yes, also the German tradition) that she decorated with glass ornaments (mainly made in, wait for it, Germany) and strands of tinsel. In this photo, I must be around five and stand between Grandma and my mother.
Look what I got from Grandma!
When I was still young, Grandma changed her tree to a silver aluminum that changed color when a light wheel shone different colors on the tree. She decorated it in all pink balls. That’s the tree I remember from her duplex in Michigan. I looked, but couldn’t find a photo of it.
Another German tradition Grandma continued was putting electric candles in the window. I wish you could see the candles in this pic, but they might have been in the kitchen window. This is the picture window in Grandma’s duplex. She has a wreath up, and the nativity scene with the gifts below. It looks as if she didn’t have a tree this year. Judging by this fabulous hair (Mom, you let me go out like this?!), I was in junior high.
I think she gave my parents at least some of her old ornaments.
The Family Kalamazoo 