The Tree of Light

<b>A Scholarly Note on Jolly Customs Born of an Evil Tree</b> Let the record show that I do not, at this time, subscribe to the following story. However, it was relayed to me, and I trap it on the page now, like a pinned moth, so that I might dissect it later. In the Long Ago of Aeternum, a dark sect worshiped the terrible Second Aspect of the Winter Wanderer. They performed profane rituals before a blessed tree. They danced naked in the dark with the Frigid Folk, yet frostbite touched neither their limbs nor their nethers. One day, a group of brave Aeternumites confronted these holiday diabolists and chopped down the wicked tree. They promptly displayed their arboreal trophy in town. The tradition became a mainstay of the holiday, symbolizing a triumph over evil. Over time, the particulars of the symbolism of this act was absorbed into every aspect of the holiday.