Tree Truth

We are fast approaching the Christmas Season.  The Season where Christians around the world demonstrate their faith and joy in the promise of rebirth and renewal that is inherent in this great and ancient religion.   It is the Season of Giving, Forgiving, and Thankfulness to which every Christian aspires.

There soon will be decorating, food preparations, gift buying, concerts, and trees.   Ah yes....the trees.  That traditional Christian Christmas icon that stands as a symbol of promise and eternal life with its ever green pine needles as well as fitting nicely into  several Biblical metaphors of strength, connectivity, and endurance .  Trees will serve as the focus of the Christmas Season and will have offerings of mysteriously wrapped gifts placed underneath to be given as tokens as love and friendship amid cheers of Merry Christmas echoing throughout the land. 

Nothing could be nicer.  Well almost nothing.

One thing that could be nicer would be the ceasing of Christians complaining that some people want to call their precious decorated trees Holiday Trees. 

I say to these Christians  Who cares?  If  I want to call the tree that I bring into the house...real or artificial a Christmas tree I will.  If the mayor of a city or councilman/woman wants to call it a Holiday Tree...who cares?  I certainly don't.   

What I do care about is the fact that the very same people who proclaim that Christmas is their festival,  basic to their religious beliefs, and part of their heritage forget that prior to having Christmas Trees as part of any Christian celebration the main duty of a Christian was to worship, pray, and spread the Good News.

Christians seem to have forgotten this far more ancient and traditional behavior.  One can sense this by how many empty pews there are in churches across the countryside on any given Sunday compared to how many Shopping Malls are open and filled to overflow with Seasonal shoppers.

It has long been my contention that if Christians truly want the decorated Christmas Tree to reflect the Christmas meaning then Christmas Trees should  primarily be sold from Church yards with the proceeds going to charity. Then they could be  called undeniably what they  are and  could actually serve to be part of the   Message instead of being an instrument for pseudo Christians to protest yet again against other religions and cultures.


Tree Truth:  I have never heard anyone say to me personally that a decorated evergreen tree  is anything but a Christmas Tree.  Then again I have not referred to a turban or a niqab as anything  other than what they are.  

Might there be a connection?