Growing up with eight other children produced chaos during anytime of the year, let alone Christmas. Putting up the tree was always a sight to behold. All of the kids vying for ornament placement were, in retrospect, hilarious. The household I grew up in always used tinsel and by the completion of the tree there were tinsel all over the surrounding area. Our cat loved to chew on it and eat it. We loathed the cat eating the tinsel because inevitably the strands would come out with her potty breaks.

When I was ten years old, an older brother had a novel idea. He clandestinely went out and purchased Christmas ornaments. All were round shaped and each one matched the favorite color of me and my siblings. To add finesse to it, my brother put each sibling’s name to their corresponding color. Of course what meant to start out as a family tradition grew into a competition game.

The six boys in the family tried to outdo each other and place our own Christmas ball on the highest spot possible without obscuring the angel reserved for the top. Oftentimes when non one was looking a sibling, including me, would replace the Christmas ornament that was on top with his own. The three girls would never partake and thought it was childish.

However, a Christmas tradition grew from there. Yes, the placement of the Christmas ornaments still continued for years, while the angel on top always stood out. But, every year the Christmas ornaments took on a more significant role.

As each successive child egressed, their Christmas ornament stayed behind and would not be placed on the tree until they came home to do it themselves. The older children who left home thought the idea was silly but the younger children’s persistence ensured the tradition continued.

Now I am at a point in my life where the Christmas tradition remains alive. Many years ago I asked my mother for the ornament so I could put it on my own tree. All the other siblings did likewise. Each child continued the same thing in their respective families.

These days the Christmas ornament looks old and beaten. It is over thirty-five years old. I can no longer place it on the tree since the top part of the ball came off and I could no longer hang it on the tree. I suppose I could fix it but then it would not have all of the original parts to it.

My name has faded as a great deal of the glitter is gone. I keep it in a plastic bag all year round because it reminds me of glorious Christmas’s past.

My three year old daughter noticed me showing it (again) to my wife. I take it out of the bag and gingerly hold the ornament as if it is a prized possession. My daughter’s eyes lit up as I retold and rehashed the story. However, this is the first year she was able to discern its meaning. Now she wants a Christmas ornament for herself on the tree. And why not? Perhaps she will start her own Christmas tradition when she gets older and eventually moves out. Knowing my daughter, she will want her ornament placed higher than mine. I may start the other tradition of vying for top spot while not blocking the star that is on top of the tree.