Christmas 2018: The Fifth Day

As we approach the middle of the Twelve Days of Christmas or Twelvetide, it's time for a childhood memory. In days of old, the Potomac Farms milkman made deliveries door-to-door in the early hours of the morning. It was my responsibility to retrieve the milk bottles from the small insulated box the company provided to keep it safe from summer sun and all-season predators. One morning, probably during the week before Christmas in 1953, I popped open the lid to that box and found this around the neck of one of the bottles:

It was a nice gesture on the part of the company, and a treasure to at least one seven year old. Ever since, Santa and his elf have bid their season's greeting to all as a decoration on the family Christmas tree. Today, our adult children are quick to point it out. I have yet to decide how to divide it into three sections so the "kids" can carry on the tradition with their families.

And what music could we share other than a tune about the symbolism of the Christmas tree!

Sources

Photos and Illustrations:

ornament, family archives

tree photo, E.E. Beck, 2018