The Christmas tree and desire

When we think of Christmas, images of joy, lights, gifts, and the central figure of the Christmas tree often come to mind. But what happens when we view these symbols through a deeper, psychoanalytic lens? In this article, we’ll explore how the Christmas tree connects to fundamental concepts of desire, tradition, and the anxiety that often accompanies this festive season.

A Story of Hope and the Tree as a Symbol

Let me start with a story I once heard. During the Spanish Inquisition, it is said that a Jewish man, imprisoned and tortured for over a year, one day found the door to his cell open. Dragging himself out, filled with hope, he reached the courtyard and eventually the prison gates, which were also open. Feeling the warmth of the sun on his face, he thanked God for the miracle of his freedom.

But suddenly, a shadow fell over him. Turning, he saw his jailer, who said, “You had endured all the tortures, but there was one left: hope.”

This story reminds us that symbols of freedom or redemption are not always what they seem. In the context of Christmas, the tree can function in a similar way. At first glance, it appears to be just a decoration, but in reality, it reflects desire, tradition, and the complexities of our relationships with others.

From Pagan Traditions to Modern Consumption

The Christmas tree has deep roots in ancient pagan traditions. Civilizations such as the Romans, Celts, and Germanic tribes used evergreen branches to decorate their homes during the winter solstice, symbolizing life’s continuity amidst the apparent death of nature. Over time, Christianity reinterpreted these practices, and by the 19th century, the decorated tree had become a festive icon, popularized in Europe by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

Today, however, the tree has evolved into a commercial spectacle: lights, ornaments, and displays designed to impress rather than connect with its original meaning. But what happens when we interpret this symbol psychoanalytically?

The Christmas Tree as the Desire of the Other

For Jacques Lacan, desire is not simply about what we want but about what we believe the Other desires from us. In this sense, the Christmas tree is a deeply symbolic object. We don’t put it up just because we like it; we do so to fulfill an external expectation: that of children, family, or even society.

When decorating a tree, thoughts like “This will make the children happy” or “It’s the tradition of my family or my country” often come to mind. But these actions reveal more than simple tradition—they project our desire to satisfy the Other’s expectations. Few people decorate a tree just for themselves. Even when living alone, the tree often represents a connection to a group, a tradition, or a collective expectation.

The act of assembling and decorating the tree can even become symptomatic of deeper dynamics. The tree’s position between the Real (the raw, magical aspect of nature) and the Symbolic (ritual and tradition) reflects a profound absence. As we cover it with ornaments and lights, we hide its essence. What remains is not the tree itself, but a projection of our anxieties, desires, and the expectations of those around us.

The Christmas Dinner: A Freudian Displacement

As children grow older, the symbolic focus of Christmas often shifts. For adults, the Christmas tree, once central to their sense of magic and anticipation, is gradually replaced by another symbolic object: the Christmas dinner. In Freudian terms, this represents a displacement—where the object of expectancy and fulfillment transitions from the tree to the dinner table.

The Christmas dinner becomes a new totem of unity and happiness, a gathering point around which the same anticipations of joy, connection, and satisfaction are projected. Just as the decorated tree once stood as a phallic object for children, promising fulfillment through the arrival of gifts, the dinner table assumes a similar role for adults. It becomes the site where the desire for togetherness and harmony is invested.

However, much like the gifts beneath the tree, the dinner rarely fulfills its promise entirely. The moments of shared laughter or connection often feel fleeting, overshadowed by the effort, stress, and unspoken tensions that can accompany such gatherings. The dinner, like the tree, reflects the unachievable expectation of truly satisfying the desire of the Other, whether that be family, tradition, or societal norms.

The Tree and the Unreachable Desire

For children, the Christmas tree operates as a phallic object in the Freudian sense—not as a physical organ, but as a signifier of desire and lack. The decorated tree, glowing with lights, becomes a magical totem. Through an equally magical figure—Santa Claus or similar characters—it produces other phallic objects: gifts.

Yet these gifts, much like desire itself, never fully satisfy. Their primary function is to highlight absence and sustain the promise of something more. As we know, even when the waiting ends on Christmas Day, the moment is fleeting—a brief instant in a year and a lifetime.

As Lacan noted, the structural void within the tree—adorned to the point of obscuring its essence—mirrors the interplay between the Real and the Symbolic. The tree itself becomes invisible, hidden beneath its decorations, reflecting the desires that oscillate between these two realms.

For adults, this dynamic continues with the Christmas dinner, where the tree’s absence is displaced. The meal promises the unity and fulfillment once associated with the tree but often replicates the same fleeting satisfaction and unspoken emptiness.

A New Perspective on Christmas

Perhaps, like the prisoner in the story, we should question the illusion of hope—the hope for a gift or a better tomorrow often tied to the rituals of the season. Instead, we could reframe Christmas as an opportunity to embrace impermanence and transience, fostering more authentic connections with those around us. Otherwise, as Eduardo Galeano provocatively described, it risks becoming the celebration of los nadies: the nobodies, the owners of nothing.

By becoming conscious of the absence at the heart of these rituals—of the tree and its role in the symbolic order—we allow it to reappear, regaining its meaning not as a superficial decoration, but as a reflection of the deeper dynamics of desire and connection. Recognizing this absence can transform our experience of Christmas into something richer and more profound.