Don't Go Christmas Tree Hunting After Dark in Northern Canada.

Written by Jordan Group.

When I was growing up, every Christmas we would go out hunting for a tree.

The perfect one, just the right size to put up in our living room.

It was always an excursion.

Going out into the countryside, cramped into the snow-covered car in our winter wear,

my mom and dad and brother Noel and I, the four of us were an unstoppable team,

heading out into the white wilderness to find that one ideal specimen,

to hack down and drag home with us,

so that we could decorate it in tinsel and cover it with ornaments, lights, and all the works.

Every year, it was our tradition.

Until one year, it wasn't anymore.

Dad passed away a couple of years back, and with all this pandemic business, it doesn't

look like we'll be doing much as a family this Christmas,

for the first time that I can remember. It was this feeling of melancholy and neglected nostalgia

in mind that I hopped into my car on a whim and drove out into the snow-covered countryside

to find a Christmas tree.

The whole thing was a bit out of the ordinary for me,

but I was feeling stir-crazy sitting in my apartment.

I had just been quarantined for a week due to an exposure at work.

And I'd finally gotten back the negative test results

and subsequent all clear to venture outdoors again.

...