Jonna Carter: The Great Christmas Tree Caper

The weekend after Thanksgiving, Scott and I went to our local tree farm to enjoy hot mulled cider and to cut our tree. Last year I learned a valuable lesson: ‘tis better to push than to pull. This year’s felling was without incident, and as we erected and festooned said tree, I had reason to recall the memorable Christmas trees of my past.

My formative years were spent in Bronxville, New York. Christmas in Bronxville had many cherished traditions. One of these was the Christmas pageant on the Reformed Church lawn. The church sits majestically atop a hill at the intersection of the town’s two most prominent main streets, and its lawn cascades gracefully to the sidewalk below. The storied pageant drew the entire town to that village intersection on Christmas Eve to marvel at the miracle that was birth of Christ, reenacted in our midst so that we might bear witness. Peace and reverence were palpable throughout the crowd, as was the sense of community of this town we all felt privileged to call home.