Story 8. Written by Jim Waitlord

Somewhere in a small village in the world, where snowflakes rested on the roofs of houses, and people were coloring their homes with Christmas ornaments, a man's mind revealed a new question: why kill pine for our Christmas? Why do we have to cut down a living tree and then decorate it nicely while Jesus died to bring us the redemption to let go of our sins? And if he, who has abolished all sins, has already forgiven everything, then why should we not live differently? Why stick to traditions when their deeper meaning is obscured?

John, the man who had lived in captivity to these questions, was slowly awakening from thought. He looked out at the countryside where the pines were bending quietly, life-filled in the winter wind, and suddenly realized that the answer was not to destroy them. The real question was: how to create a holiday that truly reflects the message of love, not the decoration of a dead tree? Why should there not be another way of expressing the holy moment that represents the birth, death and redemption of Jesus?

The symbolism of felling wood, the game of sin and redemption, is as controversial as human nature itself. According to the Christian doctrine, Jesus died to redeem the world, to forgive all sin. If everything is really arranged, why do we insist that the Christmas tree be a victim? Why do we feel the need to seek the love Jesus has brought to us in the death of a simple pine tree, while the true love may lie in the respect of life?

But it was not only the question of pine trees that concerned John. Somehow, the people who lived around him always seemed to be motivated not really by love, but rather by envy. One's supreme virtue, if one can call it virtue, is envy. The happiness of the other, the richness of the other, the success of the life of the other was always an obstacle that should have been avoided. They did not care for a moment about what was right and what was right, but about what was best for them, and they had to get there at any cost.

John sometimes observed people competing, neighbors secretly rejoicing when the other family experiences something bad, when the other family falls. "Let the neighbor’s cow die instead of mine," many thought secretly. They would have devoted a moment to love, but it was the misfortune of others that gave them the greatest pleasure. And perhaps it was the hypocrisy of this joy that made them happy, why not rejoice in the other's fall, while they were living in the very hands of the power they felt over them.

But what if love had manifested itself not only in words, but also in deeds? What if everyone, instead of feeling satisfaction for the suffering of the other, was happy to serve the well-being of the other? What if instead of fighting wars, the pine trees had been thrown down with love, not bombs, as drones carried gifts? What if Christmas wasn't a symbol of war, it was a symbol of peace?

John sank deeper into his questions. The war, now fought in different parts of the world, was like a sister war - a serial story that went back to the very beginning when Cain killed Abel. What's changed since then? Why haven't we changed? Why couldn't we understand the true meaning of love? Why have we always had to work to keep the other one down, when in fact we all come back to the same land, and end up with the same questions, the same pain, the same path?

And then John formulated a new idea. What if we didn't cut the pine and let it grow and live? What if the Christmas tree really symbolized a life, a growth that connects human hearts? What if we could create a new tradition where love does not require sacrifice, but respect, where instead of envy, joy is born in the happiness of the other?

John realized that the real answer is not to reject traditions, but to reinterpret them. The Christmas tree doesn't have to be a symbol of death. The pine tree can live, and we can live with it - in the way Jesus taught that love lies not in solving sins, but in letting them go.

And as John was absorbed in this thought, he understood for a moment. The Christmas tree is not a celebration of death, but a celebration of life. Instead of envy and anger, it is love, true brotherhood, that can lead us to true salvation.

The Mystery of Christmas Tree