“Crosby, do you know what’s in this box Dad just brought in the house for Mom?

“There’s a Christmas tree inside the box! It’s got pretty white lights on it and Mom’s going to hang ornaments on it – balls, icicles, and snowflake decorations!”

“And what do we do with this pretty circle tree, Crosby?”

“That’s called a wreath, Buddy. The tradition started hundreds of years ago, when people would trim a Christmas evergreen tree into a pretty triangle shape, and they would take the extra branches they had cut off and form them into circular wreaths. Together, the circular shape and the evergreen material make the wreath a representation of eternal life.

Now people hang them on doors and windows as Christmas decorations. “

“Is that what Mom will do with this one – hang it on the front door? Can i sit on it when she hangs it? I can say hi to everyone and be our Christmas greeter!”

“No, Buddy. It’s going to be on the outside of the front door, and it will get too cold for you to stay outside balancing on the wreath. Let’s stay inside and help Mom decorate the tree while Dad drinks eggnog!”

“Mom used to put up a GIGANTIC tree with 800 lights on it and hundreds of ornaments. But Miss Junior and me, when I was a small crazy kitty, used to climb up into the tree and we broke some branches and ornaments. So now she puts up a smaller tree but it’s still pretty!”

“I like our tree. We did a good job hanging the ormanents, huh Crosby? In the next story, can we sing Christmas songs? I have been practicing the cat version of “12 Days of Christmas! And we can write our letters to Santa telling him how good we have been so we can get presents!”

“Sure, Buddy. And let’s start watching for Santa Claus. I heard Dad say he flies around in a hot rod sleigh pulled by a bunch of reindeer. The one in front that leads the way has a red nose!”