The Christmas without a tree

Pin It I was reminded the other day of a Christmas I celebrated while I was a missionary in Litchfield, Illinois a decade ago. I remember this particular Christmas because it was the first year I’d ever celebrated the holiday without a tree. My missionary companion wanted to get one, but I told him about a family I knew back in Washington, the Dixons, who’d celebrated the season without one.

I told him about how they’d instead gathered branches, and with pieces of twine, had constructed a manger they’d filled with straw. I told him how they’d placed their presents to each other underneath the manger—a visual reminder of the greatest gift, the one which was given to us all on this holy night we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

That year, I wanted to do the same thing. So my companion and I collected branches from the neighborhood and constructed a manger for our little flat, garnishing it with white lights to help us remember the true ‘light’ of the world. In the manger we’d placed a careworn blanket and the gifts from our families were positioned below it.


That was the year that I really started to understand the true meaning of Christmas…after all, it’s far too easy to lose oneself in all of the goodies, the beautifully decorated tree, and friends who come a-calling. Sometimes we forget the reason we really give gifts when we’re skirmishing crowds at busy shopping malls and department stores.

The true meaning—and reason—for Christmas I think it is summed up wonderfully by Linus van Pelt, from Charles Schultz’ cartoon, Peanuts.



Let us not forget.