O Tannenbaum!

Or, "O, Fir Tree," which is how tannenbaum translates to English.

We have been thinking about the Christmas tree and its place in our culture since we were told of a large dog who was unnerved by the presence of a towering tree in his home. Clearly, the gift for this sensitive canine would be True Leaf Hemp Sticks.

The Christmas tree has traveled a long way since it became part of the Yule celebration in Livonia (now Estonia and Latvia) and Germany in the 16th century. Most famous in its history is the push given by Victoria and Albert, but, in fact, the Christmas tree had been known British royalty even earlier, introduced by Queen Charlotte, wife of George III.

Some years ago, we spied a Christmas tree in an avant-garde design studio composed entirely of white coat hangers. We envy the person who got to carry that home. More recently, we talked to a plumber who told us he had erected in his front yard a tree constructed from pipes. And our resident design associate once proposed a tree cut from dark green construction paper and pinned to the wall. Would minimize post-Christmas clean-up.

All interesting ways to reduce, or at least alter, pre-Christmas stress. Bowser, pass the hemp sticks.