Angel Hair

After the tree was decorated and I went to sleep, my Mom would sneak to the Christmas tree and wrap the lights in angel hair — my entire favorite part of the Christmas tree. Angel hair went out with tinsel icicles, and is very rare to find today. But my Mom saved one last box of angel hair among her Christmas decorations stored in her attic — for me, I’m sure to find someday. She imagined me, as big girl, with children of my own, sneaking down to the tree to swirl the lights with angel hair.

Angel hair looks exactly like an Angel’s hair would look.

Angel hair is spun glass, and the glass fibers can get into your fingers — so she always “fussed with it” after I was in bed. She swirled the angel hair around the lights, so that the tree would glow.

Then she used extra angel hair to tuck around the nativity scene, and her Christmas Village — so that everything looked as if it were sitting in a cloud.

With one box of angel hair left to my name, I use it wisely. Usually, I put it in a glass bowl among the vintage ornaments she left behind, and a few more strands for the tree.