Last night, as I was readying myself for bed (I was, in fact, seated on the side of the bathtub, filling a hot water bottle), I thought to my chattering self: “Something’s different. What is it?”

It seemed we were not alone in the house. Was there a houseguest sleeping on the couch downstairs? No.

Then–oh!–I remembered what it was: We’d brought a Christmas tree in from a local farmer’s market, placed it in a new stand, watered it well, and left it in the living room, still undecorated. I guess you could say it was down there waiting for us to complete it.

Christmas trees are the most soulful company. When you think in advance about all the time the tree takes to set up and remove from your home, the whole ritual can feel like an enormous hassle. But then, when you set into the work of making the family tree “happen,” the process becomes strangely effortless. You might have to fight for a fair price, fill your car with the tree in ways you didn’t think possible, search with a flashlight in the basement for the lights and the ornaments, but then, in the end, you always have a beautiful thing. Like all brides, all Christmas trees are gorgeous.

I found a fine history of the Christmas tree on a British website called The Christmas Archives. An excerpt:

Why do we have a decorated Christmas Tree? In the 7th century a monk from Crediton, Devonshire, went to Germany to teach the Word of God. He did many good works there, and spent much time in Thuringia, an area which was to become the cradle of the Christmas Decoration Industry.

Legend has it that he used the triangular shape of the Fir Tree to describe the Holy Trinity of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The converted people began to revere the Fir tree as God’s Tree, as they had previously revered the Oak. By the 12th century it was being hung, upside-down, from ceilings at Christmastime in Central Europe, as a symbol of Christianity.

The first decorated tree was at Riga in Latvia, in 1510. In the early 16th century, Martin Luther is said to have decorated a small Christmas Tree with candles, to show his children how the stars twinkled through the dark night.