Nelson Cathedral Christmas Tree Festival

Today we visited the 70 decorated trees in the Cathedral.  They are delightful and we followed a family around and the children were looking closely at the various decorations.  The trees reflected the organisation that had decorated them.  In the extra collage the 1st one is a baby in a walnut shell manger.  The tree it was on was made by the miniatures group and they titled it Christmas in a nutshell.  The children looked into each shell to see the scene inside.  Our friend Sandra posed so the forester could take a photo she could send to her grandchildren.  My favourite tree was a red ladder decorated with baubles.  It was made by Habitat For Humanity who build affordable homes for families.  The tall white figure is a bride as a Christmas tree.  This one was made for all the brides who had to cancel or delay weddings because of the pandemic.   In the past there were war brides and we will have pandemic brides.  A most unusual interpretation of a tree. 
While I sat on a pew looking towards the end of the cross a song came to mind.  The Christians and the Pagans by Dar Williams.  It is about a young woman who connects with her uncle for Christmas dinner.  They have different beliefs.  

. . . so the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table,  
finding faith and common ground the best that they were able,
Lighting trees in darkness, learning new ways from the old, and making sense of history and drawing warmth out of the cold.