As a student of philosophy I was deeply enamored with discussions around semantics, or meaning (or conceptual designation). And as I moved to history, I have grown in awe regarding the shifts that occur in and around meanings, particularly those tied to religiously and politically significant terms. So I was delighted when I heard the example of the Christmas tree in a recent podcast* used in the discussion of the religious place of things. Where does the Christmas tree belong in our imagination… Read more