A Tree of Many Nations

Last weekend, my cousin Gail and her husband Wes invited me to their home for their annual holiday brunch.  (Last year, of course, they did not have it.)  It was, as always, a very pleasant event with delicious food and good company.

Their house is beautifully decorated for the holidays, and I am always drawn to the lovely and unique Christmas tree in the living room.  Gail and Wes are very well-traveled, and she has collected dolls from all the nations they have visited.  She has decorated the tree with the dolls and flags from those countries.  (Forgive me if I am being repetitious. I have probably posted pictures of the tree in years past.)

If you are a long-time reader of my blog, you know that I have been with them on a few of those trips.

Gail and I are related on the Swiss branch of our families.  Her Swiss great-grandfather and my Swiss great-grandmother were brother and sister.  That makes us third cousins.  Gail and Wes have been to Switzerland a couple of times.  On their latest trip there, in August of 2019, they extended their time to meet up with me and to be introduced to our Swiss cousins.  

Several Swiss dolls surround the flag of Switzerland.

Gail and Wes made their first foray into Latin America in January of 2017 when they accompanied me to Mérida, Mexico.  Then in November of 2019 Gail visited me in Mexico City.

I bought the three Mexican dolls on the tree as gifts for Gail.

The doll to the right, in the white dress, is wearing the traditional attire of Yucatán.  Next to her is a doll made out of corn husks.  Below that is a doll from north of Mexico City, made by a woman of the Otomí tribe.

Hopefully, the pandemic will allow them to take more trips soon and to add more dolls and flags to the tree.