Since1931 there’s been a Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center in New York City. It started when some workers pooled their money and decorated a tree with simple home decorations. Last year’s tree had 50,000 LED lights.

People line up to see it every year. They say that during the pandemic a few years ago people wanted live trees for the holidays and busily bought them out..They were “seeking comfort in the conifers.” We are busily putting up trees ourselves now, They bring comfort as the days get darker.

When the Laurentine Glacier receded from our land here in Queens, NY, about 12,000 years ago, the first trees to grow were the evergreens. Are the evergreens a sign of hope? Is that why we treasure them?  Certainly Christians from northern Europe saw them that way when they gave us the Christmas Tree centuries ago. The tree is a sign of Christ our hope, a sign of life.

I find myself visiting these two evergreens in our garden these days. The other trees are leafless, asleep. These still stand, signs that life can go in the cold.

Bless the tree in your house for the season. Here’s a blessing prayer.