Twelve Traditions of Christmas - Part 5

PAPER CHAINS.  I'm not sure what you call these:  Advent rings?  Count-down paper chains?   Whatever they are, we have been making these paper chains as a way of counting down to Christmas for many, many years.   Ideally, the rings have been made in a timely manner so that each person can start tearing one off every day starting on December 1.  We always used red and green paper, but a few years ago, someone had the brilliant idea of using white paper for Sundays and special paper for Christmas Day.  Back in the day, we had six chains going, but somehow the enthusiasm for this quaint tradition seems to ebb as the children get older and the number of chains keeps diminishing.  

True story:  one year when I was a 9 or 10 years old, I was so deflated on the day after Christmas (all that waiting and then Christmas goes by so fast!) that I decided to make a paper chain of 365 rings to start counting down to Christmas again.  I still remember that absurdly long chain hanging in great loops in my closet, so symbolic of my longing for Christmas.  As the year went by, I kept forgetting to tear rings off and then I'd have to go and figure out how many I was behind and do a bunch at once.  I think the shine wore off that experience very quickly and I did not repeat it.

This year, for the first time, we all forgot about the paper chains until mid-December.  I fear an era has passed and will not be renewed until there are little ones in the family again.