As a non-Christian kid, one always wondered what magic lay behind the sparkling star positioned at the top of a Christmas tree. But it wasn’t just the star that attracted, it was the sparkling tree itself – which was hidden under countless decorations and baubles. It wasn’t enough just to look and be enamoured. As a child, one wanted a Christmas tree at home too.
The craze for the brightly lit and decorated tree has only grown with time and shops and markets all around the City are catering to the ever-increasing demands of kids and adults alike, who love decorating their Christmas tree with baubles of all possible shapes, sizes, colours and themes.
Everything – from the good, old silver and golden bells, to lights, wrapped gift boxes, little fairies, elves, candy canes, snowmen, Santa Claus with or without his reindeer, are available to be taken home and every one of them must find their appropriate place on the tree – never mind the size of the tree itself.
Your local market will surely help you out with a tree (whether real or artificial) and a set of decorations but if you are more adventurous and want to venture further, INA market has colourful balls clustered together like a bunch of grapes, tiny Santas and dwarfs apart from tiny boxes and snowmen for the tree. Shops in Khan Market have brightly coloured flowers and holly wreaths. Traditionally though the wreaths were meant to be only a rich green, now the manufacturers have come up with some in silver, gold and even purple!
The modern Christmas tree baubles include pleated Christmas hearts, snow babies and Christmas pickle. A pickle is a tradition which began in US but has found its way elsewhere in the world too. Though it may be a little difficult to find in the more posh markets, you may come across some pieces inside the bustling lanes of Sadar Bazaar and that too, in limited quantity.
The pickle, resembling a small cucumber is hidden on the tree. The one who finds it receives either a reward or good fortune for the following year.
The pleated hearts are made of glossy paper and in a combination of red and white. A snow baby is actually a small figurine depicting some aspect of Christmas holidays or winter sports and is traditionally made out of unglazed porcelain representing a child dressed in a snowsuit. Then there is also the ladder with Santa climbing it to reach the chimney in homes and tiny reindeer sledges.
The tree can also be decorated with paper ribbons, strings of glossy rings and yes, don’t forget those socks. After all, Santa needs to leave a gift for you too for all the hard work you put in decorating that tree!