A tree for Vicky
Paul Harvey
The subject was bound to come up, and yet when Al and Vicky were married nobody mentioned it, nor did the issue arise after the birth of their first child. But when little Ed was born the following year, Al asked his wife a favor, and that brings us to the rest of the story. The favor which Al requested of his wife was, could their household please that year at Christmastime have a Christmas tree? You see, theirs was a mixed marriage.
There'd never ever been a Christmas tree for Vicky while she was growing up, and yet of all of the fond memories of Al's childhood, the most marvelous and magical were those of the family Christmas tree. It had been an indispensable winter tradition. As Al grew up the magical memories faded, but now suddenly he found himself gazing down into a crib, into the eyes of his infant son, and somehow he saw therein himself.
Al had adored his firstborn, his little daughter, but it took a son to awaken the simple, sweet yearning of his own boyhood. So he came to his wife, and as persuasively as he knew how he asked for a family Christmas tree. I don't believe I mentioned how very much Vicky loved Al, nor how dearly she had always wished to please him, and so without hesitation on that bright December day she looked back at her husband smiling, said, Go out and find us a Christmas tree.
Well, what a joyous season that was. The first complete Christmas at Al and Vicky's place. The children, perhaps too young to know, seemed nevertheless to appreciate the festivities and particularly that wonderful green tree in their home.
Its decorations were splendid. The angel perched up on top with outstretched arms seemed to preside over all. The babies seemed especially fascinated with the lights.
They used candles in those days for lights. They were lean wax tapers. But the reflections of those tiny flames danced in the shiny ornaments.
Al told Vicky the story of how Martin Luther had been walking home late one night, and he had stopped in breathless wonder to gaze at stars shining through the branches of a lone evergreen beside the road, and how thus inspired it was Martin Luther who had created the custom of candles on Christmas tree branches Well, now maybe that's only a story, but Vicky was charmed and told Al that they must have a Christmas tree in their home every year, and they did. They would have seven more children, nine in all. Vicky herself would live to see thirty-seven grandchildren, and everybody from earliest childhood would love the family Christmas tree tradition, although it became much more than that.
For their marriage, as I say, was mixed. You see, Al had been born in Germany and Vicky in England, and at the time of their marriage in 1840, the Christmas tree was a German custom. There were none in Great Britain.
And yet royal records reveal that during Christmas of 1841 at Windsor Castle, Prince Albert of Saxony and his bride Queen Victoria of England put up something called a Christmas tree. Al and Vicky put up a Christmas tree that delighted the entire court and swiftly captured the imagination of the British Empire. Now you may have thought of the Christmas tree as a romantic custom.
Well, now you know how right you were, for now you know the rest of the story.
Paul Harvey Aurandt (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. He broadcast News and Comment on mornings and mid-days on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays and also his famous The Rest of the Story segments. From 1951 to 2008, his programs reached as many as 24 million people per week.
