Of all the house guests during this December’s festive season there is just one that’s certain to be universally welcome – and greatly missed when they leave. And that is the kindly Christmas tree. It is a tradition that remains as evergreen as the tree itself, dating back at least 500 years, and still very much a fixture in the festive calendar.

And with good reason. What better time of year than mid-winter, the season when nature is at its most lifeless, to welcome in an evergreen tree for reassurance that life somehow persists? The first known reference to a church Christmas tree appears at Strasbourg Cathedral in 1539. The practice of setting up domestic trees soon followed.

Numerous other rituals celebrating the spirit of trees can be found in pretty much every culture and age, and run particularly deep in spiritual and religious traditions. The many groves and trees found in Pagan and Classical lore are testament to the power of a tree to shape a holy space. If you read the first few paragraphs of the Hebrew bible you will encounter a sacred tree, the one in Eden whose fruit is forbidden to Adam and Eve, their disobedience causing their immediate expulsion from Paradise. 

If that seems a far cry from the gentle habit of placing a tree in the living room, take a close look at your decorations. The earliest customs included hanging apples on the tree to represent the forbidden fruit of biblical tradition. Over the centuries they have morphed into those colourful baubles we still use today. Hanging sweets and other foods on the tree also harks back to the temptations that got the better of Adam and Eve – re-enacted by countless young people to this day.

Yet the gifts associated with festive firs extend well beyond the presents hanging off their branches or piled up beneath them. The spruce, pine or fir that sits for a few weeks in the corner of the living room puts us in touch not only with ancient traditions and rituals but also with a physical fragment of the natural world. 

For a start there is their unmistakable scent. Smell is the sense that is the most evocative in conjuring up memories. And the real gift is that trees emit natural antimicrobial compounds, known as phytoncides, to ward off bacteria and fungi. These in turn can boost our immune systems and reduce inflammation and stress levels.

And second there is the sight of the tree’s dark green needles and the seemingly chaotic patterns of twigs and branches. Simple in their complexity, the repetition of patterns in nature are known as fractals, the very sight of them known to reduce stress and promote calm: evolution’s way of telling us when we are in a safe natural landscape. Trees are good for both body and mind.

There are some who question the environmental credentials of cutting down a living tree in order to decorate a home for a few weeks – which is a fair point, and one that has at least improved the sustainable practices around the trade. Whether you choose to celebrate the Christmas festivities with an artificial one or otherwise, the very real message of the tree is that our woods and forest will always be places of wonder, healing and connection. 

Nick’s book Britain’s Pilgrim Places is a best-selling guide to 500 sacred landscapes and buildings, and the routes that connect them.