Today is holiday here: December 8, Immacolata Concezione (Immaculate Conception). Even if it's a Catholic celebration, here in Italy it's also a national holiday and this year the December 8 is a friday, so we have a long weekend ^_^
Just a couple of words about the Immaculate Conception, just because someone think it's another "thing": it referred to the conception of the Virgin Mary free from original sin, it's not about the conception of her son. ^_^
When I was a child, make the Christmas tree and the Presepe (the Nativity scenes) in this day and it was a great party for all of us! My parents placed the tree in the living room and me and my sister added the Chrismas balls and all the decorations. My father place the little lights all around the tree and after dinner we light the tree!
We also loved to work n the nativity scenes. We collected some moss from the forest placing it under the Christmas tree. A tiny wooden cabin with Mary, Joseph, the beef and the donkey (we added the little Jesus just in the night between December 24-December 25). Many shepherds, different animals and also the 3 Kings Magi with their camel ^_^
When my daghter was a child I made the same for many year, collecting different Christmas decorations for the tree and different characters for the Nativity scenes, but when we start to have cats and dogs it was a little troubles. My dog thought to have his bathroom in the living room and everytime he used the tree for his "needed". It was not good.
I placed a smaller tree in a different corner where my dog could not use it as bathroom, but...
My cats loved so much to play with the Christmas balls on the tree and they loved also climbling on the branches breaking everything around. It was not good.
Now my daughter is an adult and she have a cat too. We use to make just a small Chrismas tree in our houses and enjoy the bigger Christmas tree with the Nativity Scenes in the house of my parents ^_^
See ya soon
Silvia
