There is a particular warmth to Christmas. It’s a cozy, suspended moment, shared with family and the people who matter most.
But every year, as the celebrations fade into the first days of January, I find myself walking into the same scene. As I wander through the city, around a street corner, I come face to face with all those abandoned Christmas trees, lying on the pavement. It never fails to bring a wave of melancholy.
And yet, just a few days earlier, they were the center of everything. Dressed up with lights and ornaments, they held center stage in the living or dining room, around which family and friends gathered, to talk about this and that, and of course, to exchange gifts. Excited kids with shining eyes, laughter, a beautifully set table, and the comforting smell of a home-cooked meal filling the place. Home sweet home. For some, the Christmas tree is the anchor of the only time in the year when the whole family truly gathers.
Then, almost overnight, the Christmas trees transform. They go from being the heroes of the home to outdated objects that simply take up too much space. We quickly strip them and get rid of them without much mercy, abandoning them in the cold atop a pile of others that suffered the same fate.
A few rare lucky ones might be replanted in a garden or a forest, continuing their life for years to come. But for most, there they stay on the sidewalk, waiting to be picked up and sent to some unknown end.
This was originally published in January 2015 on a website called Hi.co
I have reviewed and edited some parts of the text.