The First Christmas Tree697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8o6aHXbiln
Once upon a time, in the fa- off land of Judea, there lived a young shepherd boy named Arnon. He was a small lad, and lived in a tiny house with his father and mother. They were very poor but managed to get by through their labor. Father and son tended the flock, while Mother kept their home tidy, prepared their simple meals, and carefully tilled a garden of delicious vegetables.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡocCvbZSaod
One chilly spring evening when Arnon was only eight years old, he was sitting on a stool in front of their home, whittling at a long staff curved into a hook at one end. His father had gone off with half the flock, leaving young Arnon behind to finish his new shepherd’s staff. It was a family tradition they’d had for generations—when a firstborn son turned eight years old, he would make his staff and use it throughout his life.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBjJVObaVp5
The young shepherd finished with youthful impatience, the sturdy wood roughly rounded. He hastened to gather his sheep, all twenty of them; their bleating and braying were comforting and familiar. He knew their names and loved them as only a shepherd boy could love his sheep.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrjLtOKZtr1
The fluffy animals cavorted along behind him as he rushed up the path to the plain near the village, where he knew he would find his father. There! Across the valley, he could see the tall silhouette and grey cloud of sheep.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuOLz9SH6f1
“Abba! Look!” He cried, waving his staff above his head proudly. He began to run, his flock tumbling after him.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9yNeqeCrOJ
“Ha ha! My boy!” The strong baritone voice carried with it a share of fatherly pleasure and joy at seeing his son. They embraced.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0e1eqbfr7j
Father took the staff in his hands and inspected it closely, humming and rubbing his hands up and down its length.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq9rVcfFXu1
“You’ve done a fine job, my son. This staff will serve you well for many years to come. Not a splinter to be found! I’m so proud of you!”697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDehK1Rrgfp
Arnon blushed, but he couldn’t hold back a beaming smile. “I wanted it to be just like yours, Abba!”697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGPZH1Qt9yA
The man chuckled. “This staff is much finer than mine was when I first made it.” He hefted his own rod lovingly, and a distant look came into his eyes. Memories of many years flashed through his mind. Unbidden, a thought entered and commanded his attention.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ7UGbwH3ck
He saw a man, bruised, beaten, his humble raiment torn and drenched in blood. He saw the man, ordinary and yet remarkable enough that he could have pointed him out in a crowd of millions, carry a heavy, rough-hewn beam. He saw the man nailed to it, and hung from a tall scaffold. Tears seeped from his eyes, knowing and yet unknowing of the significance of what he beheld.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVeoe5WOZ1c
“Papa. what’s wrong?” Arnon asked softly, uncertain why his father was crying suddenly.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxe0gQcples
“Oh, my boy. Nothing is wrong—in fact, nothing could be less wrong! There is joy in the future, and I believe you may live to participate in it.” The father, seeing once again, looked down at the lad before him. Then he spotted something just next to the small boy’s foot, and bent down to pluck it up. He held in his hand a tiny fir sapling, just barely sprung from its seed.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRLL5nTP3Lc
“This will be your gift, my son. Grow this tree, and give freely of its bounty.”697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHBi7XRiUFD
Arnon tenderly accepted the sapling. “What should I do with it?” He asked.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQpOU4aZilT
“Plant it and nurture it, and someday you will know what to do with it,” his father replied, and turned to the flock. They were silent the rest of the night.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAgXuRiQq1R
Years later, the boy was a man with a family of his own, still living in the same house. Fortune had smiled upon them, and he’d been able to expand the house and his flocks with the increase in prosperity. Life in ancient Judea was difficult, and he was full of gratitude for his blessings.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtFGTtxacUG
In the courtyard where the animals slept stood a slender fir tree, already grown tall. Its needled branches cast shade over the hot and thirsty sheep, and provided a swing for the man’s son and daughter. He smiled as he watched them play, but presently a pensive feeling came over him. He remembered the words of his father and wondered what the man had seen that cold night.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXKjYKxSU0M
There weren’t many opportunities for a shepherd to relax, but at this moment Arnon desperately wanted to see for himself the vision his father had beheld. He went inside, past his startled wife without a word, and into a small room he’d added onto the back of the house for moments when a little quiet was needed. Here he knelt and prayed.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP9j7JgjeBp
“Oh God, I know you gave my father a vision and showed him something so happy that he cried tears of joy. Will you show me, please?” He prayed with sincerity, the entirety of his soul full of desire. And suddenly all was dark.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ118pCG3IHJ
The darkness was gradually lightened by the radiance of stars, and he saw a small group of shepherds on a grassy hill with hundreds of sheep. They were huddled around a warm fire, but remained watchful. One of them looked very familiar, but he couldn’t quite make out their features.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR4q1GQUkqS
Suddenly, a bright light illuminated the scene; Arnon looked but didn’t see its source. He saw a man in bright, glowing white robes descend through the light. The man gestured to the shepherds and spoke to them, calming their fear. Thousands of angelic voices proclaimed joy and gladness.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcPmzRvmBDN
His mind was clouded again, and then he saw Him—the same man his father had described. The man knelt in an orchard of olive trees, pain engraved on his features. He prayed, and while Arnon couldn’t hear his words, he felt them. They impacted his soul like hammer wielded by all the ancient fathers through the distance of time. He fell to his knees as well, and tears of sorrow flowed freely. He understood what the Man was doing, and knew why his father had been so full of joy. But that joy came at a cost. Such a cost!697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwBP1dm5HWa
The vision faded, and Arnon took a shaky breath. After a moment he stood, and set his shoulders—no one could continue living unchanged after witnessing such a thing. Such a holy thing.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxBRZiM81CH
Going out of the small, dark room, he embraced and kissed his surprised wife, and then rushed out into the yard to hug his children. They laughed and screamed, and he swept them up, twirling around with them on his shoulders, laughing.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqcRE94MtpL
Arnon set them down and stood before the tall, thin fir tree. It’s bark matched the deep brown of his beard, and he stroked it tenderly, just as he had accepted it as a sapling when he was a boy. He thought of what gift he could give of it, and his head drooped. No gift he could give would be remotely comparable to the gift he was given. This knowledge brought him sorrow and fear, but his vision also gave him hope. He would be patient. The gift would come in time.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ64KCUlHEhB
And so time passed. The children grew, as they tend to do, and eventually, his son, Simon, got married and broke with tradition to become a merchant, like his father-in-law. His daughter moved to Jerusalem with her husband. They each had their own families now and Arnon’s beloved companion passed away during a traumatic childbirth. He remained alone for ten years.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCZ48v3qxEc
One day he arose in the morning and picked up the staff that he’d carved nearly fifty years before. Its surface had become smooth and glossy over time, imbued with decades of memories. He had to lean on the staff to walk now; its role had changed from a shepherd’s crook to an old man’s prop.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU5wo3lBTjC
He looked out the open doorway into the courtyard behind his ancestral home, now empty of sheep and residence only of the now majestic fir tree. It towered over all the buildings of his village, even the synagogue and had grown full of love and life. It seemed almost eager to share its love with everyone around it.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdcCZ42UAyL
“You were destined to be a gift, you know,” Arnon said softly, almost believing the tree could hear him. “Every true gift is a sacrifice.” This last statement was to himself. He knew it was time.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuqCSIhYW4Y
He hobbled into a shed and took out an old axe, its head notched and rusted. He hefted the tool, and the rotten shaft snapped, dropping the head to the ground with a dull thud. Arnon sighed.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7NHIUaslrG
His staff was a perfect size, just wide enough to hold the axe head on through friction. After affixing the rusty implement to the beloved rod, he unsteadily began to chop down his tree. He was sweaty after three strokes, but he continued until noon when he was too exhausted to continue.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5AYnfmKwqs
He took an hour to eat a simple meal and rest in front of his home. Several villagers passed by on the road, and one woman stopped to speak.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvXZnz5G7z5
“Arnon, whatever are you doing with your staff? Why is there an axe head on it? What madness has befallen you?” It was Martha, an old friend. She spoke with concern and glanced with unease at the top of the fir tree, far above them.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡer7vkNm1eI
“I’m using it to make a gift,” was all he said in reply.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiosk3XM2tm
Martha seemed unsatisfied with his answer, but continued on her way without further question. On her way she met another friend, and whispered in her ear conspiratorially.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡROqwAqypmC
“Don’t let on that I’ve told you, Beth dear, but I just saw old man Arnon sitting with an axe head on his crook. Can you believe it? I think he intends to chop down that beautiful fir tree!”697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN7ASlhsi3w
Beth couldn’t believe it, and was so shocked that she had to run and tell her sister right away. Beth’s sister mentioned it to her husband, who happened to be a scribe in the synagogue. The news spread swiftly through the little village.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG7KRV1elvl
Arnon was almost halfway through and ready to fell the tree when he noticed the entire village standing before his home. They were silent, but all had uneasy looks about them.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz3RHk5m8cy
“What is it? Do you want to watch me chop down my tree? Watch away! But stay clear, this could fall anywhere!” The crowd took several steps back.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsyDpHsqWWg
Arnon chopped, and chopped, and chopped, until with one last thwack! the staff, overtaxed from a labor it hadn’t been designed to perform, snapped in half. The axe head flew off and embedded itself in one of the walls of the courtyard as Arnon fell right on his rear, taken aback. He didn’t know what to do.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL2Dlhx63Z7
He looked up at the tall, brown and green tree. The villagers looked up as well. They looked and looked until they heard a thin creak. That sound grew into a muted roar until with a deep groan, the tree began to fall. It impacted one of the sheep sheds with a crash, shaking the ground and filling the air with dust.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQeklG1U3va
The townspeople stared in horror but Arnon stood, unsteadily, and surveyed the mess with satisfaction. He knew what he needed to do.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpCSFyH1jsh
Autumn, and then winter passed. Arnon spent his time cutting and carving at the wood from the fir tree, making furniture mostly. Some pieces he whittled into puzzles or odd shapes that somehow pleased the eye.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0BKyasR95A
His son came with his family to live with him, concerned about the aging man’s health and wanting to keep the ancestral home taken care of. Grandchildren played and danced around his knees while he set to work on the final gift from the fir tree. His son came up, curious.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoy3CttE8Cx
“What is it, father? It’s not like the other chairs you made.”697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKUeimPYDnk
“Surely you know what this is, Simon. ‘Tis a manger for a young lamb.” Arnon had never been more careful than as he cut, carved, and assembled the feeding trough, its legs holding it about two feet above the ground.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVENTf74wHv
“A manger?” His son said, confused. “You’ve built all sorts of beautiful things from that tree you so loved, Father. Why something so simple as a manger?”697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKoP8vcAa5K
Arnon simply smiled, and said, “Simon, Do you remember me telling you about the vision your grandfather had? And the vision I had as well, about the Man? Remember that always, for I don’t have much time left in this world. My purpose is almost complete. Take the manger with you on your next journey; I know it’ll find its way to where it needs to be.”697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvtswBHAs8P
Simon emotionally accepted the task, and grasped his father’s frail hands in his own strong ones, saying “I promise.”697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaTnlLeNE5i
Simon left two months later after laying Arnon to rest in the family sepulcher carved into the hill behind the town. He had become a merchant after his marriage, differing from his family’s traditional pastoral tendencies. His route took him through several cities, including Jerusalem.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr6Gq4hRE08
One day he found himself very close to that ancient city, in a town called Bethlehem, when he ran out of wares. He didn’t know how it was possible that he would have such good luck; he’d expected to have gone all the way up to Galilee and back before selling all his stock.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKu1XNI5WZ
He was packing his things onto his donkey when a small voice greeted him.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRvnDTnCW1e
“Sir? Are you leaving now?”697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLrZrSs0FWt
Simon turned around and saw a little shepherd boy, naked from the waist up. His tousled and dirty hair was dark but reflected the setting sun with a red gleam.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKcSu8lGDtw
“I am, lad. Was there something you needed? I don’t have anything left.”697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ6pDMIQHr3
The boy contemplated for a moment. When he spoke, his simple words seemed forceful to the friendly merchant.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8EsIy9JZcS
“I need a manger for my lamb.”697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTz2vOjS8md
Simon’s jaw dropped open; he could see the manger his father had made out of the corner of his eye, strapped to the donkey. It seemed the child before him had spoken nearly the same words Arnon had said shortly before he died.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrLQ4Gw9GB5
The boy continued, “My lamb is so small, and he can’t reach the tall manger the older animals eat out of. I need a small manger, for my baby lamb.” He said it matter of factly, seriously even. To him, it was the gravest of requests.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMg2qHncMGZ
Simon was full of awe. Grave, indeed! The boy had no idea what he was asking. The voice of Arnon came through Simon’s memory, unbidden.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNOCtJyY0EJ
“Take the manger with you on your next journey. I know it’ll find its way to where it needs to be.”697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZmv0GXpsPf
Arnon nodded slowly, and the child’s eyes lit up. “Aye, lad. I think this manger would be just right for you.” He untied the manger and knelt down, placing it in the boy’s arms. The boy’s eyes were as big as the full moon.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUuYGVGa6ND
“How can I afford such a beautiful thing, sir? He whispered. The manger was beautiful, but now it seemed extra special.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnXoold1DOu
“You don’t need to afford it,” Simon said. “It is a gift.”697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsL5kBnBe5k
A gift. A gift that had been given with so much love, and at such a cost. An old man and a shepherd boy seemed to watch from above, smiling.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnNFRGtPzJo
“Thank you for your gift, sir!” The boy was overjoyed, a smile filling his face. He ran off with the manger in his arms.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfzEBdqSl9x
Simon watched him go, a strange feeling in his chest. It felt like an enormous pressure was building until he wept, but he was happier than he’d been since the birth of his last child. Wiping his eyes, he finished packing the donkey and made his way back to the village where he’d been born.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo3lE9DKTog
The shepherd boy carried the manger to a stable, where lived the animals cared for by him and his fellows. It was just right for his little lamb, but even when he was fully grown, it seemed the manger’s purpose hadn’t yet been fulfilled.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡceIx1T7l4B
The next fall came the declaration of Caesar Agustus that a great census be taken of the entire Roman Empire for the purpose of determining the proper taxation of all her conquered lands. In Judea, all men were commanded to return to the homes of their ancestors to enroll. Bethlehem, as a city with plenty of history, was thronged with people continuously for months on end.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡENXffgqNLQ
It was another cold spring night, just like one where a shepherd boy had shown his staff proudly to his father, when a recently married husband and wife, she heavily pregnant, entered the town seeking a place to rest. They’d been walking for weeks, and she was nearly exhausted to death.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTT46wG3ghv
The man—his name was Joseph—argued fiercely with the innkeepers, but there simply was no room. Not even the families in the town could house them, even for a night. One honest innkeeper, however, knew of a stable in the hill next to the town that they could stay in for a night. It would be better than being out in the could, he said. And Joseph agreed.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1EdwSFxKER
The little boy who’d received the manger from Simon was away with his friends and their fathers tending the flock, but the manger itself was still there in the stable. It hadn’t been used since his lamb had grown up, and was empty and clean in the middle of the floor at the back, waiting.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAUnM5E4qCu
The manger was furthest from the boy’s mind, however, when an angel appeared and said to them:697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtxvfU2e3yD
“Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3iQjWAiqQ
As the numberless legion of angels began singing praises to God, the little shepherd boy was running to the stable. He had a thought, a hope in his heart.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDUdjsngcOb
When he entered the stable, he saw his manger, filled with fresh straw and covered with a blanket. And lying in it, wrapped in blankets, was a Baby. THE Baby.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW0MYB2YV29
The tree had to be cut down, killed, in order to become a gift fit for the King, who would in thirty-three years Himself be killed that He might rise again. And because of Him, all of us need not fear, as the angel said, and can rejoice. The Man whom Arnon and his father saw, and the baby that slept in their manger, was JESUS CHRIST, the LORD.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt1tElHKt36
And that humble yet mighty fir tree became the very first Christmas Tree.697Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTOErdMI1RA
