Bill Casey Column

AAP General News (Australia)
12-26-2001
Bill Casey Column

EDS PLEASE NOTE--The Feast of the Epiphany, the official 12th day of Christmas, is
on Sunday, January 6. If you publish before, okay, but care to be taken elsewise.



SYDNEY - I think I've cemented the Christmas tree to the bucket.

I'm not game to check but when I put the sand in the bucket it seemed to have a liberal
sprinkling of cement in it.

We have been doing renovations at the Ponderosa and somehow someone may have decided
that was cement and sand bucket, as in two of this to one of that, rather than Christmas
tree sand.

The Christmas Tree is supposed to stand at the Casey Ponderosa for strictly the 12
days of Christmas.

But this never happens and our Christmas tree is invariably somewhat well done and
crisp by the time it is despatched for the year.

Christmas trees are never watered, mainly I think from the fear of also watering presents,
and they are inclined to snuff it, which sort of destroys the fable of Christmas a bit
to my mind.

I am never confident of this bit, but as I understand it, the twelfth day of Christmas
is in fact January 6. This of course is 12 days AFTER Christmas Day.

But apparently those cast in the deciding role chose to give us a start on Christmas
and have several days warm-up for openers.

January 6 is the Feast of the Epiphany for we Christians, although not many of us know
about it have a good working knowledge of the scheme of things.

Hands up those who knew that it celebrates the manifestation of Christ to the Magi.

My hand didn't go up. I looked it up in the books.

If you happen to prefer some other line of thinking, that's quite okay with me, and
I hope for the rest of my mob.

Everyone to his or her own, for mine.

I prefer the general meaning of epiphany (small e type) anyway. It's general meaning
is of any moment of great or sudden revelation.

It is a revelation to me as a matter of fact that Christmas began on December 25. That
can be the only answer to the 12 days of Christmas idea.

January 6? That is the day we are supposed to take down the Christmas Tree however
and it is then I will find whether I have cemented it to the bucket or not.

The reality is of course that Christmas has been going for quite a while before Christmas
Day. That more or less climaxes a considerable amount of days of handshaking and well
wishing beforehand.

Christmas does not officially begin at our place until the Christmas tree goes up.

My wife says that then, and only then, does it FEEL like Christmas.

With true dedication to form we put it up last week, or on December 18 to be exact.

I haven't thought about taking it down yet, but I guess it will be well after January 6.

Anyway we officially opened Christmas this year on December 18.

Not for us is the silly idea of 100 days to go before Christmas as we are flogged through
the department stores.

Christmas begins when I put up the tree and the wife puts the angel on the top. I invariably
feel sorry for that angel. He must suffer a lot.

I put the tree in a bucket each year and add sand and water.

The wife adds all the tinsel and other decorations while we, as a family, gradually add presents.

It becomes a sort of a reminder that you are running out of days to buy your present.

You can tell the day each member of the family has bought his or her presents. They
get this sense of achievement for a start. You can almost scratch it, and certainly see
it.

Then they discuss how bad the traffic is this Christmas, and how crowded the stores are.

You know they have finished. Green. Green. Envy, envy.

We use the Kris Kringle method among our close friends.

There are eight of us who celebrate Christmas lunch together and each goes in a draw
to decide who buys for whom.

I seem to be annually unlucky enough each year to be the recipient of a present from
my son or daughter.

I get one of those in any case.

So Kris Kringle cuts me back by one.

I have mentioned it, but no one, particularly my son and daughter, regard it as a problem.

They take my present and add things like "You don't get a Kris Kringle from me this
year, just the ordinary present. I'm Kris Kringling for Norma or John."

However my main cause for concern this year is whether I have cemented our poor tree
to its holding bucket.

There it stands, holding its secret to the end. Twelve days, no, a month of service
to our little community family.

It looks okay but I guess I won't really know until I try to lift it.

At the end. When Christmas is officially over at our house. It seems almost sad.

Apart from that the sand may have to be replaced.

Not an easy job. I've had this lot for years.

Where can you buy a single bucket of sand?

Christmas trees are expensive enough. Even those that last only the twelve days of Christmas.

ENDS

KEYWORD: CASEY ON THURSDAY

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