Christmas Trees and Tithing blessings

Today I am grateful for the Christmas Tree date that Blaine and I had; it was so much fun!  We purchased a tree permit last week and today we finally got around to getting a fresh cut tree.  We headed up to Pine Valley Mountain this morning and once there realized that there were only two types of trees we could choose from:  Junipers and Pinion Pines.  To me, Junipers are not Christmas trees!  Typically I think of a balsam tree as the traditional Christmas tree, but today a pinion pine would have to do.  I love the smell of pinion, and as soon as I got a whiff of one a flood of memories filled my mind.  I instantly remembered that my dad's favorite Christmas tree was the pinion pine.  He used to cut and sale Christmas trees.  Growing up we always had a fresh tree, but it was usually a balsam because that was the kind my mom liked, and they didn't seem as messy.  But there were a few Christmases that we had two trees and one would be a pinion.  I also remembered the smell of my dad's clothes after he came home from a day of cutting a load of pinion out west.  This was a happy smell because it meant that Christmas was coming soon and I have always loved Christmas!!!  Blaine and I found a cute little pinion pine.  They are usually very fat and full, but we managed to find one that was a little more sparse.  Remember that we are in the old adobe house and there is very little room for a tree. Blaine in all his manly skill had that tree cut in about five seconds flat (chain saws are awesome). After we loaded the tree we headed back down the road and stopped at Veyo Pies for lunch.  We each had a delicious BBQ sandwich.  His was brisket and mine was pork - yummy!  We are both trying to shed a few pounds, so we skipped the pie.  It was so tempting because Veyo Pies are delicious and they looked so inviting.  We got out quick to avoid the temptation.  We headed right home and Blaine made a tree stand.  We brought the tree in the house and we could instantly smell it.  It smells like Christmas to me.  I had the decorations on in no time.  It actually turned out quite cute.  What a fun date I had with Blaine.  Maybe from here on out this will have to be our little Christmas tradition!

Man and Machine

There's the one!

Just like my dad used to do it!

The finished product!

As I sat down to write in the blog this evening I thought about the symbolism of the Christmas tree.  I know that I have looked it up before, but I wanted to be clear on exactly where the tradition came from.  Here is what I found:

The Christmas tree has become a symbol of the spirit of Christmas in many countries and many, if not all, our homes. What led Christians to adopt this custom?
The first mention in history of fir trees used in Christmas celebrations was in 12th century Germany. A fir tree was used in mystery plays as the so-called "paradise" tree. These dramas were held outside during the Advent and Christmas seasons and the fir tree symbolized the tree of life in the Garden of Eden. The evergreen fir tree is a sign of hope throughout the winter season--hope in the promise that the rest of nature too will awaken to new life in the coming spring. The message of this symbolism was simple: through Jesus Christ we too have hope for everlasting life. Indeed, Jesus Christ has become our tree of life--the paradise tree. As such the evergreen Christmas tree reminds us that even though our earthly season must come to an end, yet we will live through the grace of our Lord Jesus.
The use of the indoor Christmas tree began early in the 17th century, in Strasbourg, (which at that time belonged to Germany, but is now France) spreading from there throughout Germany and then into northern Europe. In 1841, Albert the German-born husband of Queen Victoria, first introduced the Christmas tree custom to Great Britain. He had the first decorated Christmas tree set up in Windsor Castle in 1841. The first Christmas trees in the New World were introduced by Hessian soldiers in 1776. Later German immigrants brought the tradition into wider use in the US. The custom of decorating a community tree began in the early 1900's and is a popular custom in the US today.

What is the symbolism of the Christmas tree today? Well first of all, the fir tree is an evergreen--it does not die or fade away or lose its needles in the winter. In this sense it has soon come to represent the immortality of the resurrected Christ.

The lights in the Christmas tree also have a deeper meaning. Originally the lights used were candles, of course. The candles too were meant to symbolize Christ, specifically his self-giving love and gift of life to us. As many of us know, the candle provides light and warmth as it consumes its own substance, the wax. So, too, did Jesus give of his own substance--his life--so that we might find divine light. And when we have found divine light for ourselves, we too are enabled through the power of the Holy Spirit to give of ourselves to others. After all, Christmas is the feast of love, where we share gifts with each other as Christ shared the gift of life with us.

I thought this was really beautiful and it reminded me of one of my favorite Christmas tree stories. Blaine and I were living in Cedar City, UT while he was finishing his Dental prerequisites at Southern Utah University.  It was getting close to Christmas and Blaine and I had been helping my dad run a Christmas tree lot in downtown Cedar City.  We were poor college students trying to earn a little extra money to buy some Christmas gifts, but more importantly, pay some bills and also Blaine's upcoming tuition.  He had been blessed to not have to take out any student loans up to this point and we really wanted to try and avoid it.  As the days drew nearer to Christmas we realized we were going to fall short of making his tuition payment and we were trying to determine what to do.  We thought of asking his dad for help but we didn't feel right about that either so we determined to say our prayers and ask the Lord for guidance.  We also decided to pay our tithing.  Without paying our tithing we would have just enough to pay the tuition, but nothing else.  We really tried to justify not paying our tithing by reasoning that the Lord would understand our plight, but we just couldn't feel right about it.  We paid our tithing in hopes that by doing so it would allow the Lord to open doors that were unseen.

Well, a few days passed after we handed the Bishop our check and there was no answer in sight as to what we were going to do. But one day on the tree lot that all changed.  Blaine and I were both there and a woman that I recognized as being from Beaver (where I grew up) came to purchase a tree.  She had lived in Cedar City for several years and spent some time visiting with us to catch up on what was happening in our lives.  We told her that Blaine was applying for dental school and that he was currently a student at SUU.  We didn't say much more than that and didn't really think anything more about visiting with her after she bought a tree and left.  However, a few days later she returned and told us of an experience she had had the day before.  Unknown to us she worked in the financial aid department at SUU. She said that she was in charge of awarding scholarship monies that had been donated through private persons to students whom she felt needed it.  She had one particular family who had donated money specifically to help students who were married and preparing for post graduate education programs.  She said our names came immediately to mind and felt like the Spirit was really prompting her to do this.  We were shocked when she told us this, and then we told her our story about not having enough to pay tuition if we chose to pay our tithing, but we decided to act in faith and pay it anyway.  Tears welled-up in all our eyes knowing we had just witnessed a miracle. The story gets even better.  Later that afternoon she returned to her office at work and told her boss the story.  He couldn't believe it, and what was even more awesome was that he was Blaine's bishop just before we got married.  A few days after that Blaine received a phone call from him and he asked Blaine if he could share this story in Stake Conference.  This experience laid a strong foundation for paying tithing in our young married lives.  We have always paid our tithing ever since, and indeed the Lord has blessed us!

Today's Ponderize verse:

1 Nephi 16:29:

...And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things.