Happy Yule! Tree Decorations, Talismans, Runes...

[moonraingirl]

We decorate the tree on 24th. We used to have a big one but switched to a small one this year.
This is not fully pagan but I like to call it "contemporary old-school Slavic". Contemporary because obviously, they didn't have oranges and lemons or plastic trees (no one sold live trees in our town this year which is a pity) in the old times

[Burstfireloki6]

I have Scott Cunningham's Magical Herbalism book. It says the Burdock herb wards off negativity when cast in house or magick room. I would use it on your tree. Negativity is everywhere..

[Bychan Wulf]

Our multi purpose tree (Yule/Christmas)
We have ornaments passed by from my mom's grand grandmother and some we found in the attic of anew old house we bought from a german family more than 10 years ago.
Sadly,nothing too pagan there...yet

[moonraingirl]

Oh, Bychan, I recognize half of those ornaments, we used to have the same We had those purple and yellow ones and similar to that one where you have flowers, but there were no flowers on ours, just silver color between the purple ornaments with white dots. We also had that top, only it was pink. Probably whole socialistic block had the same ornaments.
Nostalgia!

[Bychan Wulf]

Haha,yeah,maybe it is a ex-socialistic thing,but we all like them too much to throw them away (like many did, as a sign of protest)

[moonraingirl]

I like them, too! We didn't throw them away, that would be a pity. It's just that we had "natural" ornaments for a few years now and the old ornaments are in the boxes.
I'm sorry if it sounded like I don't like them, I didn't mean that.
It was only that I remembered my childhood and what my friends used to have in their homes. Having similar products makes people closer. That's why I like socialist furniture, for example, because everyone had the same and seeing one feels so familiar. It gives people a chance to remember nice things together. I mean everyone went to very similar kindergartens and lived in almost same home so that even people who lived in different towns can share very similar memories. We were talking about that today with my friend today, that it created a certain kind of bond between people.

[moonraingirl]

For example, when I lived in a dorm in Brno, Czech rep., we would sometimes discuss our childhood with friends from the Czech rep or from Slovakia who come from towns many kilometers apart. But then we discovered that we share very similar roots connected to material culture (toys,playgrounds, etc) and this strenghtened a sense of community between us. Sometimes this would bring up memories of funny stories and everyone would understand, because they had similar experience.

[Bychan Wulf]

I'm sorry if it sounded like I don't like them, I didn't mean them"

Lol,don't worry!
1) it did no sound like it,sorry if I seemed too defensive,I didn't mean it!
2)even if you said you did't like them it would have been no problem. Everybody has his own tastes and the right to express his own opinion.

I was born only after the communism ended and did not experience it myself. What I can see now,is that we were a little bit slowed down from technological progress (what it is known in the USA a 80's or 90's issues and other stuff,we only experienced in 2000) and we also have the grannies who keep every single thing,just in case they will need it someday and it won't be avalible. (Old people did not get used to the idea of Supermarket very easy). My grandma is also used from that times to keep a lot of food in the refrigerator because ot was hard to find it fresh in that times.
Maybe it created bonds too,like you said....it would explain my mom befreinding russian people very often haha

[SpiritTalker]

I like your story of bonding, MRG. By the way, we had the same tree topper, in gold, when a college friend and I shared an apartment many years ago it was the only real ornament! The rest was whatever we could find. We had an artificial tree too. And here we are, talking to each other from different countries.

[Firebird]

Sadly,nothing too pagan there...yet

Nay, your whole tree is pagan!

I love all the ornaments you have there, are they all glass?
Hey Spirit Talker, we had a similar topper when I was a kid but the very tip of it had been broken off, it was glass. I'm really a fan of vintage glass ornaments.
And MRG the oranges and lemons on your tree are wonderful!
Bb, Firebird

[Bychan Wulf]

Nay, your whole tree is pagan!

Yeah,I know,but a pentacle would fit best in there. Maybe next year....

I love all the ornaments you have there, are they all glass?

Most of them,yes.
Those from the bottom of the tree are out of plastic. Our pets love decorations too much to risk it hehe.

[Kassandra]

And all still perfectly okay with my Christian family

Double duty, lol



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[Kassandra]

I used to work with this German woman who told us back in the old country they would bake rune cookies and hang them on the tree.

Rune cookie tree ornaments. Cool.

I think Heartsong and/or Xiao had posted pics of baked runes. If I find the old thread(s) I'll link, some might find inspiring and fun.


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[Firebird]

That would be great Kass.

Thankfully my pets were mostly uninterested in the tree, they would rather pee on it than attack it

[Bychan Wulf]

You got lucky! I have both: one that pees on the tree and one that climbs it and eats it.
You can never supervise both of them