Tree Christmas O

Here’s a new Christmas “tradition” that’s guaranteed to turn your holiday celebration upside down!

One of the traditions of the season in many homes is putting up the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving.

Or they may wait until Christmas Eve.

Some folks will scurry home after church this Sunday, prop up that evergreen, untangle the snarled and unblinking string of lights, haul out the various and sundry ornaments that range from crystal bells to delicate bulbs to the popsicle stick and paste creation from a child’s kindergarten class.

Whether you put it up on Christmas Eve or the day after Thanksgiving (or, if you’re a department store, sometime around Labor Day) the Christmas tree is the most simple and recognizable symbol of the season. It’s been the same for centuries, ever since the Christians adopted the symbol from Germanic paganism — the evergreen being seen as a symbol of eternal life because it’s always green even in the dead of winter. Wherever you go these days, you can expect to see that basic triangular shape, be it artificial or real ...