[caption id="attachment_1629" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Christmas trees on the corner outside of the subway"]<a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/dsc01367.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1629" title="Christmas Trees 09" src="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/dsc01367.jpg?w=225" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a>[/caption]

It's a few days to Christmas and there are people selling Christmas trees every where--on the street corners, in the parking lot of Billa and even out of a black Mercedes sedan in my neighborhood. The thing about these trees is that none is taller than I am and not a single one could be described as full.  Rather the trees are all short, skinny, scrawny twigs of trees.  The trees are green, with branches and smell like pine so I think they must be Christmas trees but it's nothing like the trees we sell in the states--giant, overgrown, bushy trees.

This afternoon I realized that my MoM and Charlie Brown would love the trees here in Sofia.  My MoM likes a tree with space between the branches so that she can hang up her boxes and boxes of Christmas ornaments. She likes to be able to see the ornaments and likes the tree to have some depth. She doesn't just want a few ornaments clinging to the outer edges of the Christmas tree branches.  She's pretty serious about her trees and if you dared to suggest a fuller tree well, just don't. The only problem with the trees in Bulgaria is that I think she has so many ornaments that she'd need two or three trees in order to display her collection or lights and ornaments.<!--more-->

Charlie Brown (of the comic strip Peanuts) has his own Christmas special. He knows that Christmas is coming but he's not happy.  The story that follows is one of self discovery, friends, a school play  and a sad little Christmas tree that no one else wants and Lucy thinks is ugly.  It's a lovely story--Charlie is able to see the beauty in a tree that no one else can see.

It's played on tv at Christmas time as long as I can remember and the story is one of my childhood.  In fact, I'd be more than happy to curl up on my couch with a cup of hot chocolate with colored marshmallows bobbing around and watch the 30 minute (or so) tv special right now.  I realize that I don't link to cultural markers like this much tonight I can't resist.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CVSpx2d8dg]

For my Bulgarian viewers, if you don't know <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Charlie_Brown_Christmas">A Charlie Brown Christmas</a>, I'd urge you to watch the clip or if you're more the wikipedia type use the line for the summary and history of theshow. For my American viewers, watch it. You know you love it.  (And Scotty-G, I hope that you watched your DVD while decorating the Christmas tree in DC.)