Rockin' around the Christmas tree

Bombarded as we are in the preceding weeks, for many, it is the ritual choosing and dressing of the tree that marks the start of Christmas, says Jack Watkins

- Jack Watkins

AS time renders childhood an increasingly distant speck on the horizon, memories grow fonder. Together with the Advent calendar, nothing evokes the feverish anticipation of December 25 more poignantly than the arrival of the Christmas tree. Specially selected from a nursery or, perhaps, a street trader in the village and brought into the garden—receiving, hopefully, an approving nod (‘It’s a nice shape’)—there’s then the ritual of shoveling soil into the tub and getting the tree standing straight (‘Blasted thing’s still crooked’). This trial overcome, the tree is brought inside for the big moment little hands have been waiting for, the enormous responsibility of decorating the branches with silver tinsel and glittering baubles. From the wonderful, fresh pine aroma to the hazard of fallen needles spiking fingers and knees when playing with new toys beneath it, how on earth did bygone generations of children get through the festive season without a Christmas tree?

It may feel as if the family gathering around the tree is an annual re-enactment of an age-old ritual, but it is, in fact, of relatively recent origin in Britain. All the same, trees have long played a part in end-of-year celebrations. Inevitably, evergreens were the species of choice, their continuity of growth throughout the cold seasons, when most other vegetation had either died off or ceased to grow, seeming to symbolise endurance or eternity.

'How on earth did children get through the festive season without a Christmas tree?'