It is a funny thing we do. Once a year, we bring a tree into our homes, in some kind of tribute to our pagan past.

Putting up a Christmas tree is an opportunity to spend time with the family, time to reflect on years past, and time to take time, doing something deliberately slow, something that can't be outsourced or subcontracted.

Each of the ornaments we put on the tree means something. Some are appropriate for the season, evoking the nostalgic sense of the holiday.

Some memorialize old pets.

Some have absolutely nothing to do with Christmas.

Putting up the tree is a modern, secular ritual. A milestone or event that signals a beginning and an end. Something we take lightly at the time, but whose memory becomes infused with great meaning.