The Christmas Tree

The Christmas Tree by Maud Van Buren

Mathew, the son of a charcoal-burner, grows up in a cabin high on Pine Mountain, far above a noisy mining town. His mother, unhappy in the town, had asked that he never be raised there; after her death, his father took him into the mountains. Mathew’s life is shaped by the woods, snow, animals, and his father’s charcoal work. As he grows, he becomes especially devoted to a slender silver fir near the cabin. He treats it as if it has a soul, decorates it with flowers, leaves treasures beneath it, and finds comfort by resting under its branches when he feels an unnamed longing for his mother. At twelve, Mathew’s father worries that he needs schooling. The town has grown quieter, with children and a newly built church, so Mathew is sent down to attend school. Though initially frightened and homesick, he becomes absorbed in learning and in the church’s teaching. Hearing the minister speak of God gives him a new sense of meaning, but he fears returning to the mountain, where he thinks no one can teach him these important truths. As Christmas approaches, the church plans a Christmas tree. Because his father knows the mountain trees, he is asked to provide one. Mathew decides that his beloved silver fir must be the tree, believing that giving what he loves most is the proper offering. He is distressed as his father cuts it down, seeing resin on its trunk as tears, yet he hopes the tree will understand its purpose. On Christmas Eve the fir stands lit with candles in the church. Mathew sees its trembling branches, its cross-shaped twigs, and the star-like pattern of its growth. During the service, the church seems to merge in his tears with the great forest: pillars become tree trunks, organ music becomes wind in the branches, and the silver firs rise like spires crowned with crosses. He feels that the tree speaks to him of God. Mathew understands that the mountain is not separated from the spiritual truth he has found in town: the fir’s stars and crosses are reminders of hope and sacrifice, and everything in the forest can speak of God if one knows how to understand it. After the joyful Christmas celebration, Mathew tells his father that he is happy to return to the mountain, because the mountains know as much of the important things as the town does.

By Maud Van Buren · First published 1927 · Genre: Christmas Fiction, Religious Fiction, Children's Literature · 4,251 words

First lines

_Mary Austin_

Eastward from the Sierras rises a strong red hill known as Pine / Mountain, though the Indians call it The Hill of Summer Snow. At its / foot stands a town of a hundred board houses, given over wholly to the / business of mining. The noise of it goes on by day and night, -- the / creak of the windlasses, the growl of the stamps in the mill, the clank / of the cars running down to the dump, and from the open doors of the / drinking saloons, great gusts of laughter and the sound of singing. / Billows of smoke roll up from the tall stacks and by night are lit / ruddily by the smelter fires all going at a roaring blast.[10]

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The Christmas Tree is listed on Textopian as a short story by Maud Van Buren, dated 1927 CE.

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holiday literature · children's fiction · winter setting · family traditions · festive atmosphere · seasonal story · gift-giving · home celebration · religious holiday · sentimental fiction · illustrated book · early 20th-century literature

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