This may resonate with non-Christians of whatever stripe over the holidays - [wbur.org]
I agree with the issue of the tree. Huge farms are created just for this purpose. I would buy a living tree, use it for a year or two and then plant it. There was a time when the 'living' tree died and when I took it out of the pot it wa just a stump. There are unscrupulous people who cheat even at this time.
We have a tree that the community started by chance on the highway. People just started to put ornaments on it. Next came the lights.
Now its a tradition, and the tree keeps getting bigger and more people are decorating it.