Ornament Nostalgia, Day 1

"John Wayne in The Searchers" from the
Hallmark 2012 Keepsake collection. (12/13/14)

After spending the evening hanging ornaments, and briefly considering the origination of the Christmas tradition of hanging ornaments on trees in the first place, I was reminded that most of our ornaments (like your's, I'm sure) have a story to them. While not every one carries a sleigh-load of nostalgia, each is on our family's tree for a reason.

It was then that I decided to post some quick pics and thoughts about our ornaments in the days leading up to December 24.

First up, was an ornament that I blogged about two years here. As is often the case, it was the first of what was, I believe, intended to be a longer series of Hallmark ornaments as the following Christmas I was gifted with its pardner, a second John Wayne collectible. The original ornament, as described in the aforementioned post, "John Wayne in Rio Bravo" is a Hallmark Keepsake from 2012. "John Wayne in The Searchers," from 2013 joined the tree this year after waiting for the holiday season to come back around (we never put the ornaments on the tree immediately after receiving them, but reserve them for the following year).

The affection I have for Wayne is tied to my love for my late grandfather, and I owe my appreciation for the western as a genre to him. Though I did not recognize it at the time (sadly, who really does at 10 years of age), my grandfather introduced me to numerous American archetypes familiar with his generation, the "greatest generation," indirectly as my brother and I watched with him on Sunday afternoons. While the Hallmark "series" seems to have ended as only a pair with the release of only two ornaments. Placing both on the tree again this evening, and recounting the memories they cumulatively evoke, I look forward to unwrapping them from their plastic shell casing and box each year for hanging for many years to come.

"John Wayne in Rio Bravo" from the  Hallmark 2013 Keepsake collection. (12/13/14)