Green Christmas beats white one any day

We dream of a white Christmas. Santa’s outfit must be red and white. The wise men gave gifts including gold. We want to hear those silver bells. But the color that stands out the most and gives the most is green. It’s the only color that we not only can see but also can smell. Take a deep breath the next time you walk by your green Christmas tree.

President Kennedy gave popularity to the old saying that “only in the winter can you tell which trees are evergreen” in a speech he delivered in Germany in 1963. It’s the wonderful color of green that stands out in the darkness and deadness of winter to declare there’s life. When the giant oaks stand embarrassingly naked, the flexible pine still declares there’s life in the forest.

So we too go out to Minter Farms and other places to cut down a green tree, drag it home, put it in a stand, and adorn it with beautiful things. Then we sit and admire. There’s life in the house. “We have a live green tree this year,” we say.

You see, Christmas is all about life. I appreciate the power of green in that after all the life has left a bough of greenery and it would go up in smoke at the suggestion of fire, it still looks green and alive. That’s the power of green.

Christmas is all about life and yet without the big lob of life called the resurrection, Christmas would be a dead bough. To celebrate Christmas, you have to be alive. A corpse never laughs, gives a dime, or even suggests a “Merry Christmas.” But you are not a corpse. You are a walking, breathing, talking Christmas possibility machine.

Too often when we think or mention “green,” we think about currency, moola, “dough-ray-me,” cash, the gift that keeps on giving. But green really means life and if you are alive, you can give. Only amid the scarcity of resources can you tell who has life.

Anyone can declare their home a part of the green zone. Go out and get some pine, some holly, some mistletoe, or some cedar. Put it here and there throughout your house (please not close to hot spot). Look at it. Smell it. It’s all about life. Now, imitate it. You be green!

“I’m dreaming of a green Christmas...” That’s right, Bing.