Tabletop Tannenbaums (Christmas Trees)

     'Tis the time for holiday decorating!
      It was always a thrill picking out a live tree with my folks. Bringing it home from the local tree lot; stringing twinkly lights on its spacious branches, randomly tossing tinsel, hanging the many colorful ornaments, topped off with a star. Our small house was consumed with the scent of pine. Majestically standing from floor to ceiling, I was in awe of its beauty!
      We also had a spindly tree that Mom pulled out of storage every year, which she sparsely decorated and propped on a table. Think "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree" here. I was not very fascinated by this fake tree! 
      Come to find out, this small tree has huge sentimental value to my parents. 
      When Dad was serving in the Army 8th Infantry Division (1959-1965) he was stationed in Germany for 18 months, where my parents lived off base in Bad Kreuznach. They didn't have much money but purchased this tinsel tree at the Post to decorate their cramped upstairs apartment. Mom was very homesick...this tabletop tree reminded her of family back home in the States, and the goose feather tree from her childhood. 
      Feather trees were created in Germany during the mid-1800's with growing concern the forests were being depleted, especially during the holiday season. These tabletop versions of the native pines abundant in the Hinterlands were the first artificial Christmas trees!
German immigrants brought this tradition to America. 
      Most of the primitive trees were made of goose feathers wrapped around stiff wire forming the branches, attached to a wooden rod trunk inserted to a base for support. 
      By the mid-1930's, feather trees lost their popularity in the United States as the live Christmas tree industry flourished. Feathers were replaced by synthetic materials such as aluminum. Genuine goose feather trees are rare antiquities as most have deteriorated due to poor storage and improper care. Contemporary feather trees are reproduced in a variety of colors and sizes. 
      I recently asked Mom whatever happened to that tabletop tinsel tree, which she proceeded to delicately pull out of storage for the first time in many years. Remembering my childhood...and realizing this deeply rooted history...I am in awe of its special beauty...!
                            
               

Our Tinsel Tree

(purchased in Germany, 1960) 

Propped for the purpose of this post...

a tradition restored at the Rapp Haus!

A Hex Upon Your House

     About 300 years ago, peasant farmers from the Rhine region of Germany and Switzerland settled in the southeastern countryside of Pennsylvania. These settlers consisted of plain dressed Amish & Mennonites, and the more worldy fancy Lutheran & Reformed sects. This community became known as the "Pennsylvania Dutch." The term "Dutch" is a rendering of  deutsch or dietsch meaning "German," not referring to the Dutch people of the Netherlands.
     Bringing their homeland customs, the immigrants created colorful quilts, needlework, and handcrafted furniture still prized today. Popular folk art emerged in the mid-1800's, with brightly painted Hex Signs decorating the drab barns of the "Fancy Dutch" because it cost too much to paint the entire structure. Although the exact meaning behind the name of these novelties is a mystery, it is believed the term derived from the German word sechs (six) which evolved into hex. Originally the most popular symbols were six-sided geometric star designs, hence the name. In this case the word hex is not a bewitching curse, but considered a good luck charm warding off evil spirits. 
     The symbols and colors of Hex Signs (or Barn Art) have special meanings, stemming from medieval European roots and fraktur, a word describing the ornate script and artistry stylizing Bibles; marriage, birth and death certificates. For example:

• Crescent Moon - the four seasons
• Distelfink - mythical bird of good luck & happiness
• Heart - true love
• Oak Leaf - long life, strength and endurance
• Tulips - Faith, hope, charity, and trust in mankind
• Blue - protection, peace, spirituality
• Green- growth, fertility
• Orange - success in career and projects
• Red - passion, charisma, creativity
• Violet - sacred
• Yellow - physical and mental health, connection to God

      Coming to America in 1728, my paternal Eshelman ancestors were among these Swiss immigrants who settled in Lancaster and Franklin Counties of Pennsylvania. This might explain my attraction to the whimsical folk art spotted throughout my house.
   

The Distlefink is the mythical "Bird of Good Luck and Happiness." 

It is based on the thistle seed-loving Goldfinch. On this Hex Sign, the bird

is perched on a large heart of love, with tulips of faith.  

This design features two Distlefinks expressing love and friendship.

Two hearts beating as one, their embrace surrounded by a never ending circle.

The tulips show faith this love will last forever.  

This is the popular "Irish Dutch" Hex Sign.

The design contains a traditional shamrock, and two Distlefinks

signifying a double dose of good fortune. 

Also a red heart for love; trinity tulips for faith, hope and charity; 

and scalloped border for smooth sailing in life. 

Luck of the Irish...Germans and Swiss!