What Makes A Great Christmas Tree?
Christmas Tree by Mel Garner Aylmer, QC
“It’s hard to describe what makes the perfect Christmas tree. The physical requirements are straightforward enough. The tree must stand tall and straight. Its branches must be thick and graceful, and they must point upward, giving the impression they are reaching for the sky…
But the trees that are finally selected need something more than height, thickness and suppleness ― even more than mere beauty. And that’s where I come in. I’m not an exceptional fellow in most ways, but I do have this gift. I can see if a tree has character, a spirit that outshines the ornaments and tinsel and lights ― if its beauty comes from the inside and not just the outside.”
About finding the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center in New York, from the story The Christmas Tree, Julie Salamon, Random House 1996
“Rituals and myths, such as those involving Xmas and Santa Claus, are among the few remaining links to our ancient roots; they are part of the most tenacious and most important myth of all ― the story of man’s first awareness of being part of something greater than himself and of the shattering memory of the conquest of fire; that fiery instant which totally changed the fate of mankind.”
From the fascinating and highly original book: When Santa was a Shaman ― The Ancient Origins of Santa Claus & the Christmas Tree, Tony van Renterghem, Llewellyn Publivations, 1995
