O Christmas Tree

There are about as many debates concerning Christmas trees (artificial vs. natural, multicolor strobe lights or soft yellow, stars vs. angels) as there are about how best to prepare a turkey for Thanksgiving (bake, broil, or the IED-adjacent deep fry). I will undoubtedly convince you of a fresh-cut fir’s or white pine’s superiority, but let us first appreciate the wonder of having a common tradition that makes the debates worth having. In an age of atomization and retreating social norms, a warm hearth to laze in front of as we exchange...