A few days ago @mipiano made a nice post about Christmas Cards, and invited us to an initiative on the subject, valid for this month. Here is my contribution.

My compilation will be about decorative ornaments, which we use on the Christmas tree or for the home environment. Giving it that distinctive aura that represents a few days of celebration and family harmony.

To decorate the top of our Christmas tree, I use this ball with an elongated extension that ends in a point.
The remaining crystal balls are placed alternating with others, according to their size and color. I use the larger ones at the base to finish with the smaller ones at the top.

This small bell with the skin on top was a gift from a friend, bought in Switzerland.
He told us that ringing the bell on the day Christmas begins, with the family gathered together and asking for positive wishes, would help on a spiritual level to make them come true.

This little animal with big eyes, whose species I do not define, acts as sentinel and protector of the house.

With those big round eyes and a bilateral mydriasis, it reflects that it is brimming with happiness. It protects and alerts the inhabitants of the house from bad influences and intruders.
It should be placed in the living room, in front of the main entrance of the home.

We like to put up this small Christmas tree, since the beginning of December. It has its lights and ornaments typical of the holiday.

As the days go by, I put up the bigger tree. It can be artificial or a natural one that I have in the garden at the entrance of the house. The one I illuminate with its long strips of lights, I put the crystal spheres that you saw before, its plumes that resemble snow, stars and other ornaments.

This genuine leather and fabric shoe is a vintage item that was purchased in Zakopane, Poland. World famous place, where there are big mountains, rivers of drinking water and mountaineers with traditions indigenous to the place.

Every year, many people go there to ski and to be in contact with a nature that gives an air free of impurities and an atmosphere that relaxes the soul.

Our beloved shoe represents tenacity, the firm struggle to achieve our goals and dreams. At Christmas, with the family present, it is an ideal frame to summarize our achievements of the year and share thoughts of future projections.

We could not miss these wax candles, representing Santa Claus or St. Nicholas in Poland, and this Snowman.

It was a shame, to use them as a candle, light their wick and make them melt. Despite having been with us at home for years, and showing the signs of the passing of time, they continue to take center stage every December.

This little house with chimney, with the Christmas tree attached; plus that square box to put candy in, are made of hard ceramic.
Imported from Warsaw, they are beautiful ornaments that we have kept for a long time and are in good aesthetic condition.

In Poland, people are very faithful to their Catholic religious beliefs, they do not forget to go to church. In this month, they make their invocations both at home and in the many churches they have.

I love this ornament, it opens and closes like a book. It represents that temple that opens its doors at night, so that families can pray for their prosperity and that of their children.

These bells and hoops, made of natural plant fiber, are symbolic ornaments that are placed behind a door. The hoop or crown represents the immortality of the soul. Being a closed circle, the energy recirculates all the time, it is not lost.

The bells that ring this month, announce the proximity of Christmas and the birth of the baby Jesus.

Some years ago, I was invited to a Christmas activity at the home of the Canadian ambassador in Havana. From there I have these beautiful napkins that were placed on each table.

My mother never lost her Polish traditions, even though she lived in Cuba.
Every night, on December 24, she would take out this woven basket, where she had her hosts.

They are not round, they are rectangular plates that are broken into pieces. The tradition is that each one takes a piece with his hand, and puts it in the mouth of another person. He will do the same action. That is why you see each person's arms crossed. Greetings and positive wishes are exchanged.

I wanted to give my contribution to this initiative, but it does not cease to cause me mixed feelings. I lost my mother last year, and just the fact of taking pictures and writing about these ornaments, which were very special to her, is something that touches me deeply 😂.

But just as at Christmas we celebrate the births of new beings, we have to deal with the other side of the cycle of life, which includes the departure of loved ones.

Christmas in my house, will continue amidst the mix of Polish Carols and New Age music. These decorations bear the imprint of an artistic work that reflects human creativity, where we give participation to animals, mythological beings, cities, and everything that man conceives with his ingenuity.

These stories presented to you, represent over time, traditions, and events that invite harmony, reunion and family unification.

Sometimes we do not have the whole family in the same country, it does not matter. The main thing is that we are united on a mental and emotional level. Because where the Thought is, there we will be.

If there is a month, where these thoughts embrace more, it is in December: the month that reigns the beautiful Christmas 🎄.

Own photos. Camera: Panasonic Lumix model DMC-ZS100

Text divider. Free use from @eve66
Text by Andrés Brunet

@abrunet

Thank you for reading
Welcome your comments
Infinite greetings!