The Fraser fir is wrapped in colorful twinkling lights and decorated with keepsake ornaments that hold the family’s history, each one with its own story.
EVERY YEAR, you can read our Christmas tree like a big old Southern novel. It’s all about where we are from, who our people were, who we were, and who we are now. Almost every ornament tells a story.
But let’s start with the tree, which is always real and always big, usually from one of those choose-and-cut tree farms in the mountains of beautiful Ashe County, North Carolina. We buy a large one for the front porch, too, illuminated by strands and strands of those old-fashioned round colored lights, which prompted a famous matriarch of the town to stop me on the street when we moved in 20 years ago and announce severely, “My deah, you should nevah use colored lights on your historic home. Nevah!” She rapped me on the shoulder, hard, and swept away.
Well, I did it anyway, and I am still doing it. We put colored lights on every Christmas tree we’ve got, and we’ve got them everywhere—on the front porch, on the back porch, in the den, in the kitchen—and, of course, there’s the big one situated between the dining room and the living room, the special one that is covered with the keepsake ornaments that hold our history.
The handmade Appalachian ornaments come from my own childhood spent in the coal mining town of Grundy, Virginia, home of my father, Ernest Smith. He eloped with my beautiful mother, Virginia Marshall (nicknamed “Gig”), married her on Christmas Eve 1930, and brought her home to his beloved mountains. Though it was a great love match, she would always miss Chincoteague Island, her childhood home off Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Mama is represented by a little carved Chincoteague pony—and by her own measuring spoons, for she was also a home economics teacher and a famous cook.
Denne historien er fra December 2017-utgaven av Southern Living.
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Denne historien er fra December 2017-utgaven av Southern Living.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Three twists on the classic chocolate-filled cookie
SUPPERTIME: Elegant Made Easy
Tender braised short ribs are fancy enough for Christmas dinner or any special occasion. Bonus: They're even make-ahead
A Big Easy Christmas
Let the good times roll in New Orleans
TIMELESS DECOR: Good as Old
Natural elements and folksy finds infuse this 1886 Georgia cottage with warm-fuzzy charm
Classic Pattern, New Spirit
Four tastemakers put their fanciful spins on an old-faithful Spode collection
MEET HER IN ST. LOUIS
Trimmed with ribbon and wrapped in wallpaper, designer Amy Studebaker's 1950s Missouri home proves there's no such thing as too much of a good thing especially this time of year
A TENNESSEE TREASURE
For nearly 115 years, The Hermitage Hotel has been Nashville's holiday mainstay
The Powerg Poinsettias
A little while back, a neighbor knocked on my door, hoisting up a ruby red plant so enormous it concealed her completely from midriff to head. I was new to the area, and this was her way of welcoming me. A poinsettia, vividly colored, overflowing its pot, and endearingly ill-timed-it wasn't even Thanksgiving yet. But the plant seemed to brighten up the whole world just a bit, as if daring anyone to reject the early holiday spirit. You could say it kick-started my love for the leafy shrub and what it seems to represent: a simple kind of goodwill.
WRAPPED WITH CARE
In San Antonio, Christmas isn't complete without a plate of steaming tamales on every family's table
PARTY LIKE IT'S 1984
Entertaining now is quite different than it was 40 years ago, but our recipes stand the test of time