My Christmas tree: decorated with memories, love, family and friends

By Lorraine Bugado Ornellas | Special to the Herald

When I was a little girl, I would be thrilled when Daddy would go mauka to Ookala, here on the Big Island, to cut a pine tree to be used as a Christmas tree. There was always something very special about it. As a child, I thought only about presents and Santa. After I grew up, I realized the tree was about love, family, friends and the Christ Child.

My Dad, Joseph Bugado, would put the tree in a bucket of water with stones inside to straighten it. He would then string the lights. My brothers, sister and I didn’t want that job, but we enjoyed putting up the bright ornaments, icicles, cotton and tinsels. Daddy and I loved the resplendence of the red and green lights. They made the tree come alive.

Along with decorating the tree, we would have to clean our house (like a spring cleaning) until it was sparkling. Our house had to be clean to welcome friends with love, and the spirit of Christmas.

I can still remember sitting under the tree in the evening cutting paper dolls, while taking in the sweet scent of the freshly cut pine. I would often try to peek through the beautiful wrapping on the presents to look for printed words that could help me guess what was inside.

As we decorated the tree, my Dad would talk story about how his dad, my grandfather, would cut a pine tree, too. They shared family stories, he said, just as we did, and continue to do today.

I laughed when my daughter Brenda told me about the turmoil she recently encountered in putting up a Christmas tree overseas. In the military and stationed in Germany, she carried a large pine tree up 30 stairs and into two elevators to her apartment. Then she realized her ornaments were in storage, so she decorated it with strings of popcorn, Christmas cards, icicles — and love.

I remembered another Christmas when I was incapacitated and worried about how I was going to put up my tree. That year, Brenda came to the rescue and flew over from Honolulu especially to put up the tree and decorated it for me. True love from daughter to mom.

Then there was the Christmas when my Dad had terminal cancer and was in excruciating pain. Yet he persisted in wanting to decorate the Christmas tree. I helped him with the lights as he struggled to put them up. It would be his last Christmas, but he had to have a family tree and, as always, he was determined to decorate it.

Besides our tree, other traditions filled the Bugado house at Christmas. One was Mom’s brandied fruitcake. She offered a piece to everyone who visited. There was also the aroma of roast meat with potatoes on the stove. We would gather around the tree talking stories while munching on the fruitcake. My Mom also set out a platter of fresh fruits, nuts in their shells, and raisins. Food, of course, is another expression of love. Today at Christmas time, I also bake cookies and fruitcakes, and roast meat. I usually give one fruitcake away for mom’s soul.

Every Christmas, we have a Nativity set displayed in the home. We go to Midnight Mass to honor the birth of Jesus, to pray in thanksgiving for one year’s ending, and to welcome the coming New Year.

Every year, we look back at Christmases past through our collection of photos taken by the tree. We see smiling, cheerful faces. We notice how each tree is unique and how the family has grown and changed. We share good memories of fun with friends and family.

The Christmas tree brings back memories of my nephew Kevin who was only 17 when he accidentally drowned just before Christmas. Kevin used to help me clean the house and decorate the tree. I also think of Sean, another nephew, who was only 27 when he died suddenly. Sean also used to help me clean, and make fruit cakes.

For me, the Christmas tree symbolizes memories, both good and sad — memories of happy childhood days, and of people I love dearly. It is a symbol of love, kindness, gifts, special foods, and the honoring of the Christ Child. It is a sentimental and loving symbol that helps me be thankful and appreciate those living around me.

Many blessings and Mele Kalikimaka to all.