BUT...back in my mind, there was ALWAYS a memory of the few times we went to my grandparents farm, when I was about 3-6 years old.
My grandpa would go out to the woods and find a pine tree to cut down.
It wasn't perfectly shaped or anything, but it was cut by grandpa and decorated by grandma and filled with love.
I remember in my mind, the smell. The c7 lightbulbs. and even some 50's era bubbler lights.
Back 17 years ago, I decided I was tired of the artificial tree stuff.
Time to go out and get a real tree. I wanted to TOUCH my memories again. Grandma and Grandpa are gone, but for a few weeks each year, I can touch a little bit of that childs memory and feelings.
For awhile I continued with the little Italian lights, but about 5-6 years ago I got some of the c7's like my Grandma had.
Maybe next year I'll find some of the old Noma bubble lights.
Here is a recipe for Pfeffernusses.
Something my Grandma made at Christmas time.
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup margarine
2 eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons anise extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup confectioners' sugar for dusting
1
Stir together the molasses, honey, shortening, and margarine in a saucepan over medium heat; cook and stir until creamy. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Stir in the eggs.
2
Combine the flour, white sugar, brown sugar, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, anise, cinnamon, baking soda, pepper, and salt in a large bowl. Add the molasses mixture and stir until thoroughly combines. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
3
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Roll the dough into acorn-sized balls. Arrange on baking sheets, spacing at least 1 inch apart.
4
Bake in preheated oven 10 to 15 minutes. Move to a rack to cool. Dust cooled cookies with confectioners' sugar.
Thanks for your recipe; but especially for your memories.
I’ve got many boxes of never-used bubble lights; I started buying them up in the ‘90s wherever I found them, because I remembered them from the Christmas trees of relatives.
We’ve also got a lot of C-7s, wired and replacements. I’m always thinking of what will happen when everything goes to those LED ‘jewel’ colors, that don’t look anything like Christmas lights, to folks of my age ;-)
-JT