The tree has too many baubles | The Press

In 2018, Melania Trump, then first lady of the United States, decorated a section of the White House for Christmas with red trees without any artifice, which caused people to cringe, because the result was so sinister, closer of a funeral ceremony than of a celebration.

In 2024, the trend would be completely different, according to an article in Washington Post which announces the return of “tacky Christmas”, which we could translate as “cheerful Christmas”. Down with the monochrome tree or decorated according to a manic symmetry, down with the theme, perfection, even good taste, we do as in the old days: we throw almost anything on the conifer, natural or artificial. , surrounded by poorly wrapped gifts!

There is a mixture of nostalgia and rebellion towards performance there, it seems. Rebellion, because at a time when influencers are explaining to us on Instagram how to carefully decorate even the inside of our fridges, we're fed up. Nostalgia because we all have old family albums with photos in which we pose in front of Christmas trees a little device and screaming.

I'm talking to you about a time that those under 20 cannot know; Christmas photos in those days took at least two weeks before they could be seen, once printed.

It was only afterwards that we could sometimes tell how drunk our parents were, by the number of failed photos where a misplaced finger blocked the lens. But what's funnier than bad photos? Personally, these are my favorites, because they exist less and less since we fixed them on our smartphones.

For the tree, I remember the immutable annual ritual. My father took out a large cardboard box from the shed containing the decorations and the dismantled plastic tree. He then spent an evening saying bad words while installing the twisted branches and testing the lights on the garlands, one by one. Which explains why today I have a tree with integrated lights, in three pieces, which can be assembled in five minutes. The rest is purely a decorative pleasure, to the great delight of my cat Nanette, who will drop a few balls every day, fortunately made of plastic, therefore unbreakable.

Looking at the Christmas photos where my brother and I grew up in front of the same colorful tree, I first noticed that posing in front of the tree is an essential tradition, and that only our apparent growth allows us to date the photos. After all, it is an ephemeral work – OUR work, and we want to remember it. I also remember some enthusiastic years when we flooded it with a few too many decorations. Once we threw so many icicles on the branches that the tree looked more like a big cake, and the cat at the time vomited and defecated silver wires for days.

Of the wonder of my childhood, today all that remains are the Christmas decorations to cling to. It's my turn to bring the load of baubles and bells out of the basement, ideally while listening to Christmas classics while cookies bake in the oven.

The lover and I also discovered old wooden and ceramic decorations in our old house that his parents had themselves inherited from their parents – because in the tree!

Because my heart is still filled with joy when the tree returns to its throne in the living room. In fact, I'm holding back on not putting it out right after Halloween, because according to a study, people who decorate earlier for Christmas are happier than those who don't. If you don't believe it, or if you lack inspiration, go take a trip to the Taverne de Noël du Petit Dep, boulevard Saint-Laurent. People queue for drinks in a setting overflowing with tinsel and plastic Santas. I would put my hand in the fire that after the failed New Years Eve of the pandemic, no one wants to restrict themselves and we are working hard to decorate the interiors in a festive way.

This year, my fad is lights. I put it everywhere, in the windows, on the stairs and even on the TV. This Christmas will be flashy and bright, tacky as can be, or it won't be. In any case, it will make great photos – or bad ones, which would be even better.