Hi, Merry Gentlemen (and Ladies)--

We have an angel on top of our tree, a very pretty one with little lights inside and bisque hands and head. No one in the immediate family is very religious, but the angel is a tradition to commemorate a very old story:

[clearing throat]

Once upon a time, God looked down upon the North Pole and observed the hustle and bustle of Santa and the elves getting ready one Christmas Eve. "Hmm," He said to Himself, "Santa looks like he could use a little extra help this year." So God called the Archangel Gabriel to His Side and said, "Gabriel, go down there and help Santa out this Christmas. Do whatever he asks." Gabriel didn't need to be told twice.



Once Gabriel got to the North Pole, he presented himself to Santa and explained that he was to do Santa's bidding. Santa, distracted but still jolly, told Gabriel that the Head Elf was the job foreman and knew all the details, so Gabriel should report to him. Then Santa rushed off to check the weather reports and see to some last-minute naughty-and-nice audits.

Gabriel thought about this for a few minutes, and decided that, first, God had told him to do what Santa said, not some pointy-eared underling, and, second, he, Gabriel, was an archangel, and archangels only take orders from the top.

So, for the remainder of Christmas Eve, whenever the Head Elf gave Gabriel a job, Gabriel would take it to Santa and ask Santa to confirm the Head Elf's orders. Santa repeatedly, and with an increasingly short fuse, told Gabriel that he should just do the job. (Christmas Eve is a tense time for Santa, and he didn't need the extra pressure.) But still, it was, "Santa, where do you want this toy train?" "Santa, do you want these candy canes in the front of the sleigh?" "Santa, where do the teddy bears go?" Santa was about ready to blow his stack.

As the final preparations were being made for take-off, one of the Christmas trees in the front of Santa's house was knocked over. "Hey, Gabriel!" called the Head Elf, "pick up that tree, will ya?" So Gabriel picked up the tree and ran over to Santa as they were in the final phase of countdown to launch. "Santa! Santa! Where do you want me to put this tree?"

"Where do I want you to put that tree??" Santa roared. "I'll tell you can put that tree! You can take that tree and you can stick it--"



And that, children, is why we have an angel on the top of our Christmas tree.

Ho ho ho--
Mary Anne