Why the Evergreens Stay Green

By John L. Olbert

Why the Evergreens Stay Green is a Christmas story of a father telling his children how the Evergreen became the Christmas Tree. It begins when an Apprentice Angel is given an assignment (in order to get his wings) to find a tree willing to sacrifice itself to become a manger without knowing why.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Dec 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781483588759

Book preview

THIS EBOOK IS LICENSED FOR YOUR PERSONAL ENJOYMENT ONLY.  THIS EBOOK MAY NOT BE RE-SOLD OR GIVEN AWAY TO OTHER PEOPLE.  IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE THIS BOOK WITH ANOTHER PERSON, PLEASE PURCHASE AN ADDITIONAL COPY FOR EACH RECIPIENT.  IF YOU’RE READING THIS BOOK AND DID NOT PURCHASE IT, OR IT WAS NOT PURCHASED FOR YOUR USE ONLY, THEN PLEASE RETURN TO the ebook site AND PURCHASE YOUR OWN COPY.  THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE HARD WORK OF THIS AUTHOR.

[e-mail]

ISBN: 978-1-48-358875-9

Table of Contents

Why the Evergreens Stay Green

It had become a tradition in our family to go out the night before Christmas and choose the best Evergreen tree we could find, bring it back to our house and decorate it with every kind of ornament imaginable. Beautifully glazed, store bought bulbs depicting various Christmas settings. Homemade ornaments, maybe not as pretty but made with love and heartfelt meaning and some very old glass balls handed down through the years finding a new home on our family’s Christmas tree.

Somehow every year we would find a tree a little more perfect than the year before and then string it with lights and drape it with tinsel in an effort to make it even more beautiful than it already was. We would sing carols, drink eggnog or hot chocolate and try to guess what we might receive in the presents that would somehow magically appear the next morning under the tree. The final touch was always the star that would top off the tree and leave us in awe of what we had accomplished. It was always the best night of the year and something we all came to look forward to.

Once the star ornament had been put in place we would settle in beside the fireplace where a roaring fire would keep us warm and watch the snow fall just outside the window. We always seemed to be lucky with the snow on Christmas Eve, it might not always be a lot but there would always be some. Precisely at nine o’clock father would plug in the lights and we would all stand back and admire our work. The tree would glow with every color of the rainbow. For the next week our tree would become the center of our living room, our holiday and our lives.

Wow, look at that! my big brother Adam would say every year as though he had never seen the sight before. I still don’t know if he did that for our benefit or because he really was amazed by what we had accomplished.

It’s a beautiful tree, Larry. My mom would say, You’ve really outdone yourself this year.

We’ve outdone ourselves my dad corrected.

And so it was year after year, at least as I remember it. Until this year, my twelfth year, when my sister asked a question that would change the rest of my life.

Daddy, what kind of tree is a Christmas tree? my sister asked.

My father thought for a moment and then smiled, Actually, it’s a very special kind of tree called an Evergreen.

What’s so special about it? I asked.

There are a number of things special about an Evergreen, but I suppose the fact that it remains green all year round would be the easiest to see my father replied.

Other trees stay green too! Adam chimed in.

Not in the cold weather my father informed us. In fact, hardly any other trees stay green when the snow falls and ice begins to form, but the Evergreen stays green all year round.

Why do the Ebergreen trees stay green, daddy? my sister asked.

That’s Evergreen, Rachel, my mother said picking my little sister up. And your father has a wonderful story all about that.

Anybody want to hear it? my dad asked.

Needless to say, everyone cheered their approval.

Then let’s all get comfortable! he said sitting down in his favorite overstuffed chair. It’s kinda long.

Mother sat Rachel down on the couch opposite my dad, Adam sat next to her and