Christmas Ornaments 2018 IV

tongues of flame

MichaelStephenWills

Carrying on the thoughts on lambency from my last post, “Christmas Ornaments 2018 III”, here is a macro of our Christmas tree.  There is no element of the Christmas celebration so puzzling to outsiders as the practice of sacrificing a beautiful tree, to drag it inside for display, presenting a part of the forest as a sacred object, touched by light or, in earlier times, tongues of fire (candles).

Click this photograph for my Fine Art Photography gallery.
Click this photograph for my Fine Art Photography gallery
Pam presents me with a Christmas ornament every year and this was the first.  

Stories of the fragrance of holiness, sometimes attributed to the Holy Spirit or Saints, are sprinkled throughout traditional Christianity within personal testimony and scripture as well as in our celebrations and rites as incense.  A character of the freshly cut pine that melds well with this tradition is the unmistakable fragrance of a freshly cut evergreen conifer , reminiscent of the precious, aromatic resin frankincense, one of the gifts to the infant Jesus from the three wise men of the east.  In spite of saving several dozen authentic trees, our artificial conifer has not acquired the sacred fragrance.

The first blown-glass bulbs, such as our large elaborate specimen of the photograph, were produced by heating sand to the melting point, putting a dab on the end of a very long heat resistant pipe.  When encircled by a clay mold, when the pipe is blown into the glass expands to coat with clay with a thin layer of glass.  The addition of silver and other shiny compounds allow the finished product to capture and reflect light.  Each bulb is its own lambent tongue of flame, licked with captive light.

Click this link for the first post of this series.

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24 thoughts on “Christmas Ornaments 2018 IV”

  7. Loved reading this post. The fragrance of holiness of past Christmases melding with the aromas of present blessings is a wonderful thought. Lovely ornament. ❤

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  8. My parents always had a ‘live’ tree, Michael. I can remember becoming quite sad as it browned and withered. Of course, in those days, the synthetic type would have been very expensive!
    Love the image. Well done to you. 🙂

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    1. Both sets of grandchildren living locally enjoyed a live tree this year. They go out to the tree farm and cut it themselves. A bracing family event. We enjoyed the visits and aroma. Thanks for the greeting and memories, Carolyn. Merry Christmas.

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  9. Beautiful ornament. When I unpacked mine this year and reached in for one that was my Aunt’s and was at least 70-90 years old, it crumbled in my hand. I had a flood of emotions as I had to dispose of the small pieces, but the memories still reside with me. It is a time of year that floods your soul with good thoughts. 🙂

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