'The saddest things that one may see, as Christmas passes by, are old discarded Christmas trees - their branches all awry', so wrote an unknown poet. Hazel Mason Hadley tells in her book, Behold God's Love, that according to legend, all the trees in the forest bloomed on the night of Christ's birth.
Whether we decorate our Christmas trees because of this legend or because of some ancient pagan ritual, we do not know. At any rate, these trees at Christmas make our hearts feel happy. But a few days later when the discarded tree is thrown out, we have lost this cheer... 'for life contains no sadder sight or so it seems to me, than a soul that's lost its Christmas light like some old Christmas tree' - our anonymous poet has compared the thrown away tree to a soul that has lost its Christmas light.
The Christmas light is the true spirit of Christmas - the remembrance that Christ came into the world on this day for us and for all men. We need this idea in our hearts throughout the year; not just once a year on Christmas Day.
In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus compares people who have lost the Christmas spirit to salt that has lost its flavor. He says, 'Such salt is worthless. So it is with people who do not keep the true spirit of Christmas alive within them all year.'