My grandmother asked when I was born that my mother bring me to Christmas and Easter at her house, even though my mom was raising me Jewish. Mom agreed, because she didnât see why my dadâs parents shouldnât have a piece of me too. So Iâve always celebrated with them every year.
When I was maybe two or three my mother brought me to Nannyâs and we opened gifts, as usual, but mom brought me back to see them a few days later, and the tree was still up. So, as they told it, I laid down and shimmied under the tree while they chatted, and laid there staring straight up. Eventually they asked me what I was doing under there, and I told them I was looking for the presents. Because I apparently had decided that the reason the tree looked like that was it was a present tree. And the presents grew on the tree and fell when they were ripe.
Iâm 28 and they still tell this story every year because it delights them that Iâd applied apple picking logic from Rosh Hashanah logically to Christmas. So, now you know.
Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it, enjoy your present trees!