CHRISTMAS pictures (trees, decorations, etc.)

[Mullen]

 

[stsinner]

a 3 foot bottle of gin (empty) + xmas lights = makeshift xmas tree

I think that's a very creative idea, especially for a college kid or someone on a budget.. I've been poor in my life, and this would have cheered me up!

 

[stsinner]

No tree here ... that only will be set up in the morning of Christmas Eve - traditionally. But some decorations are out now, what with today being the First Advent Sunday.

My wife and I think this stairway is gorgeous!!

One question, however, and not in a judgmental way, of course, but what tradition, as in religion, etc., sets up a tree on Christmas Eve? Seems like a whole lot of work for one day.. I passed at least 20 cars today in my driving with fresh trees atop them, and most people I know set up their tree the day after Thanksgiving, or the very rare exception-two weeks before Christmas. Just made me curious.

But that railing going up those stairs of an obviously upscale house is beautifully adorned... I'll try to remember when I'm talking to you that I'm dealing with royalty... LOL

 

[stsinner]

I wasn't happy with my previously posted picture, as it didn't really exhibit the warmth that our living room exudes... So I played with Manual mode and got rid of the flash until I got an acceptable shot.. Even though it was already hot in our house, I turned on the pellet stove to get a flame.. I had to crank it up to 75, so I was sweating like a pig taking these pictures.
How is this one? First, Let's post my first post (with flash) for comparison:

And with no flash in Manual mode... ISO 800, f7.1, 2 sec. shutter

 

[LaFoto]

Nicer with the given lights and no flash used! Well done .

We are in Germany.
Things are a little different here.

We are Christians - and we celebrate Christmas (almost) like the Americans do, too (or Christians all over the world, for that matter), but we celebrate the Advent Season with the traditional advent wreath which lies flat on a table (mostly), and has four candles, the first of the four (only!) to be lit on First Advent (which was yesterday), the first and second (more light, time of the arrival of Christ coming nearer) to be lit on Second Advent Sunday, first, second and third on ... you get the idea. It is getting lighter (more "Light comes to the World") as we approach Christmas, but the full light (candles on the tree) only arrives at Christmas Eve.

Different countries have different traditions, although everyone is basically Christian. Like the day for the presents in the Netherlands is on 6 December, St Nicolas Day, and all the Dutch children dream of 6 December - presents, yay.

In Spain, the children have to wait for another month, their big present day is (well, at least it WAS like that for long) on 6 January, when the Three Magi arrived at the stable with their presents. For Christmas Eve and the two days of Christmas, Nativity Plays and Nativity Scenes in the churches were THE big thing in Spain - but from what I hear, they're on the way of losing that tradition and more and more people have gone to also have a Christmas tree in their homes.

So ... different countries, different traditions, yet everyone's celebrating Christmas, and some might even remember why.

 

[stsinner]

So, Corinna, are you Americans living in Germany, or are you German? I was in the US Army for 8 years, and 2 of those years were lived in Augsburg, Germany in Southern Bavaria, but we basically maintained our American traditions, as we were surrounded with other American service members.. We basically had our own little American city, complete with grocery stores, movie stores, auto garages, etc... I loved living in Germany, for the most part.. The fresh food is always delicious, and you can set your watch by the trains! Oh, yeah-the beer is good, too, and Germans really know how to throw a party! The various fests were always a very good time and not boring, as many American festivals are.. I loved the way the place would always break out in song with everyone swaying and toasting with the huge liter mugs of beer. You just don't see that in America. Everyone pretty much keeps to themselves.

We are Catholic, so I'm very familiar with the Advent wreath. We do that, as well, but we put our tree up the day after Thanksgiving and try to give the kids a good month, complete with lessons about Christ and discussions at the dinner table that revolve around the reason for the season to try to combat the increasing impression kids are getting that Christmas is just a time to receive presents.. It's disgusting how everyone wants you to celebrate Christmas-the retailers, etc, but nobody wants to hear God's name in public.

Anyway, since this is a photography forum, thanks for the nice comments about my picture.

 

[LaFoto]

So, Corinna, are you Americans living in Germany, or are you German?

I'm all German, born in Germany, and one who has never lived in an English speaking country for a longer period of time.

And we up here in the North keep ourselves a little more to ourselves, too, compared to those you would see those on the Bierfests in the south, for example.

 

[stsinner]

I'm all German, born in Germany, and one who has never lived in an English speaking country for a longer period of time.

And we up here in the North keep ourselves a little more to ourselves, too, compared to those you would see those on the Bierfests in the south, for example.

Well, I'm impressed by your mastery of the English language..

 

[Crazydad]

One of our traditions is for everyone to pick out 1 new ornament each year. Here are the ones we got this year.

 

[rufus5150]

Here's my first ornament picture of the year:

 

[Ridge Meadows Photography]

Hop into the spirit and lets all throw up some of our Christmas pix ..


Here's one we just took to get the ball rolling:

 

[LaFoto]

Thanks for your contribution, Ridge Meadows ... the "ball has been rolling" for years already, in the Photo Themes section, where people are invited to post photos on a certain theme (such as Christmas, for example) into one collecting thread. So I merged your post with the existing theme thread. OK?

 

[Ridge Meadows Photography]

ok..awesome thanks

 

[Josh66]

 

[Crazydad]

^Very nice!