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# Fully Loaded with Faux Pinecones
- URL: https://www.jamesreeves.co/tree/
- Published: 2020-11-28T23:36:44.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-15T03:49:34.000Z
- Author: James A. Reeves
- Tags: Notebook

C. and I bought an artificial Christmas tree today, another unexpected development in 2020\. We haven’t celebrated the holiday in years. This wasn’t a conscious decision, more of a gradual drift as the hassle of storing boxes of ornaments and trying to guess what to buy one another faded into a preference for end-of-year travel or logging time in dim sum parlors and movie theaters. But these options are no longer available this year, and we need something to anticipate, so we bought a fake frosted spruce from the superstore, twenty-five percent off and fully loaded with faux pinecones and prewired lights. We even bought some Christmas tree perfume, a remarkably specific product that makes it smell like a real tree.

I admire the artifice of our Christmas tree, from its polyvinyl chloride leaves to its pine-scented cologne. It makes me feel very modern, simulating an ancient ritual with murky origins that can be traced to the Roman mid-winter festival of [Saturnalia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturnalia?ref=jamesreeves.co) or perhaps the Viking worship of trees. Bring outdoor scenery indoors and push it to the brink of flames.

Domestic rituals of all kinds will be critical during this long winter.

#### [Apex Twin – Tree](http://jamesr323.sg-host.com/radio/Tree.mp3?ref=jamesreeves.co)

###### Selected Ambient Works II | Warp, 1994 | [Bandcamp](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/aphex-twin-selected-ambient-works-volume-ii/?ref=jamesreeves.co)

[http://jamesr323.sg-host.com/radio/Tree.mp3](http://jamesr323.sg-host.com/radio/Tree.mp3?ref=jamesreeves.co)