Have you ever found yourself crying while laying on your back, on the floor, staring up at the inside of a Christmas tree? I’m going to guess probably not… I have and “Under Your Christmas Tree” was conceived (I think it’s fair to say immaculately ;-) ) as I laid, with my back on the hard floor, head under the tree, looking up through it’s middle, having a gentle cry. This was a one time thing. It’s not like I make a habit of sticking my head under Christmas trees crying. It’s just, I had a very tough year in 2017 and lost some people very dear to me, one was my mother. I didn’t plan on crying when I laid down on the floor and popped my head under the Christmas tree. Oh no, it was all fun and games, until that moment. Let me rewind a little bit here and explain.
Some years back, I had moved into a new neighborhood and I spent my early mornings at the bus stop with my elementary aged child and some other mother and their children. We enjoyed exchanging stories and chatting about all things mother related. On the the last school day before the winter break, my child was telling the other children that he found the Christmas pickle and he was asking me if we could get one to hide. Just the day before that, I had been at a friend’s home, where they practiced the tradition of hiding the Christmas pickle. I was telling the other mothers about this fun tradition. “It’s a pickle ornament. Whoever found it last year gets to hide it this year and whoever finds it this year will have good luck all next year.” I explained how I had looked once before but been unable to find one. A couple of the other mothers thought it was the funniest, strangest thing and come Christmas Eve, one of the mothers and her child, showed up at my door with a gift for me and my child. A pickle. She wanted one for her family after hearing about them and she was far more determined than I or fortunate because she was able to find, not one, but two. My mother was at our house at the time and she also had never heard of such a thing but quickly became a seeker of the pickle, as my child got right to hiding it and asking each of us to look for it. Every year after that, she was bound and determined to find it.
So forward to 2017, with my children grown up, I prepared for their Christmas visit. I found myself alone, decorating the Christmas tree. I came across the Christmas pickle and slide under the Christmas tree to strategically hide it, thought of my mother and found myself in tears. As I lay there under the Christmas tree, with tears softly falling and blurring my eyes, I noticed how beautiful the view from inside the Christmas tree was and as I was hiding the pickle, this song idea came to mind.
More recently, Dan has been playing this pretty guitar riff that I think fits the lyrics perfectly. Take a listen and see what you think. “Peace On Earth For Christmas” is another Christmas song I’ve written and can be found at our old Youtube page.
Warm wishes to you and yours!! <3