Oh Xmas Tree

I'm here at home studying before heading to school, listening to Christmas music and enjoying our tree. Did I mention we have a tree? We weren't planning on getting one this year, but then Bryn arrived at home on Sunday while I was slogging through homework with a tree and assorted trimmings. I'll admit that I was frightened by the selection of things he got. Mainly the lights. There are four different types of lights on this thing, white LEDs, colored LEDs, other colored LEDs that twinkle, and a strand of crazy starburst lotus light with glitter.

But we put it all together and it looks just fine. It may not be a designer tree, but it's the first time I've had a real tree in years and the house smells nice! Plus he bought some weird gadget for it so we have a Christmas tree with a remote control to turn the lights on and off. It looks like a keyless entry fob for a car. The only thing that would make it better is if it would "chirp" when I hit the button!

Christmas vs. Easter

Scientists recently found spruce trees in Sweden that may be up to 8,000 years old. That beats the current 5,000 year old California record holder by three millenia! And since we're on the subject of conifers, we can easily jump over to Christmas, right? And from there compare it to Easter? And hey, how does Easter resist the commercialism of Christmas anyhow? I mean, both holidays have to do with Jesus. I suppose his torturous death does seem a little unsavory in comparison to the image of a newborn baby in a manger with some kings and shepherds trekking across the desert, following a convenient star in the sky. "Jesus remains the world's most famous victim of capital punishment." And that doesn't seem likely to sell quite as many Hallmark greeting cards.