{"id":228,"date":"2015-12-22T02:08:53","date_gmt":"2015-12-22T10:08:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mytruths.ca\/?p=228"},"modified":"2015-12-22T02:29:54","modified_gmt":"2015-12-22T10:29:54","slug":"a-tree-for-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mytruths.ca\/?p=228","title":{"rendered":"A Tree for Christmas…"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A Tree for Christmas…<\/span><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Butchart<\/a>Not exactly your typical household Christmas tree, I grant, but here\u2019s a tree \u2013 for you \u2013 for Christmas.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Since long before the advent of Christianity, people \u2013 particularly those in Europe and other northern climes \u2013 celebrated the solstice and the turning of the year by adorning their homes with greenery.\u00a0 This act symbolized their connection with nature and their belief that warmth and new growth would soon return after the winter hiatus.<\/p>\n

Despite early objections by the Christian faithful about links to paganism, this recognition of our relationship with the natural world persisted into Christmas folklore, rites and traditions, and continues still.\u00a0 The Christmas Tree.\u00a0 The holly and the ivy.\u00a0 Christmas wreaths and evergreen boughs. The inclusion of such natural elements alongside family traditions, religious iconography and the commercial santaclausology that make up today\u2019s Christmas festivities speaks to the enduring importance of nature to our cultural lives \u2013 whether we realize it or not.<\/p>\n

As our cultural practices evolve, and as the imperative of \u201cbuy, buy, buy\u201d increasingly dominates the season, I fear that fewer and fewer of us are paying much attention to the foundational roots of our celebrations and traditions \u2013 and that applies most of all to our kids.\u00a0 But this is easily resolved.\u00a0 This Christmas, take a moment to stop and smell the evergreen.\u00a0 Touch it and remember why it\u2019s in your home.\u00a0 Tell your kids your stories about your childhood Christmases (we all have stories).\u00a0 Better yet, go for a walk in the woods, and tell your stories there.\u00a0 What better time of the year is there to do this?\u00a0 What better gift is there for your children than their heritage?<\/p>\n

On behalf of my partners at Change Canada Consultants Ltd.<\/a> , and all of the volunteers at the National Trust for Land and Culture<\/a>, we hope you have a wonderful and fulfilling Christmas!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(And if you support the work we are doing to recognize, protect and celebrate Canada’s natural and cultural heritage, please consider making a donation to the National Trust for Land and Culture<\/a>.\u00a0 Thank you.)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A Tree for Christmas…   Not exactly your typical household Christmas tree, I grant, but here\u2019s a tree \u2013 for you \u2013 for Christmas.   Since long before the advent of Christianity, people \u2013 particularly those in Europe and other northern climes \u2013 celebrated the solstice and the \u2026<\/p>\n

Continue reading<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ians-posts","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nA Tree for Christmas... - My Truths...<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mytruths.ca\/?p=228\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Tree for Christmas... - My Truths...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"    A Tree for Christmas…   Not exactly your typical household Christmas tree, I grant, but here\u2019s a tree \u2013 for you \u2013 for Christmas.   Since long before the advent of Christianity, people \u2013 particularly those in Europe and other northern climes \u2013 celebrated the solstice and the \u2026 Continue reading\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mytruths.ca\/?p=228\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"My Truths...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-12-22T10:08:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-12-22T10:29:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mytruths.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Butchart-Gardens-1-768x1024.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ian Fawcett\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ian Fawcett\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mytruths.ca\\\/?p=228#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mytruths.ca\\\/?p=228\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ian Fawcett\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mytruths.ca\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/43b21b4a3b2f8997ae5fc5973066d00a\"},\"headline\":\"A Tree for Christmas…\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-12-22T10:08:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-12-22T10:29:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mytruths.ca\\\/?p=228\"},\"wordCount\":355,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mytruths.ca\\\/?p=228#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mytruths.ca\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/Butchart-Gardens-1-768x1024.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Ian's Posts\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/mytruths.ca\\\/?p=228#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mytruths.ca\\\/?p=228\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mytruths.ca\\\/?p=228\",\"name\":\"A Tree for Christmas... - 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