Should Christians Do This? Pastor Reacts to the Viral Cross Christmas Tree Trend

New time slot, same chill vibes. This midweek Church Chat AMA is all about real life, joy, mental health, and one very weird Christian Instagram trend… cross-shaped Christmas trees.

🎄 Joy vs Happiness at Christmas
• Why joy and happiness aren’t the same thing
• How joy can exist even when life is hard
• Seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child as a parent
• Favorite Christmas memories from our community poll (football with cousins, epic neighborhood lights, dad’s blinding movie camera, and more)

🧠 Mental Health & Headaches
• Talking honestly about headaches, exhaustion, and mental health
• When it might be time to see a doctor
• Seasonal struggles and how winter can amplify anxiety or depression
• Simple, gentle ideas for self-care and relief (and a little pastor empathy)

🧸 Cabbage Patch Kids, Garbage Pail Kids & Kinder Egg Lore

Yes, really. We go on a hilarious nostalgia rabbit trail:
• Vintage toys that were actually banned (Snack Time Cabbage Patch Kid, anyone?)
• The difference between Cabbage Patch Kids and Garbage Pail Kids
• Why Kinder Surprise eggs were banned in the US for a while
It’s goofy, but it’s also just… human. And that’s kind of the point of these streams.

✝️ The Viral Cross Christmas Tree Trend

We react to a bunch of Christian Instagram and TikTok reels showing:
• Giant cross-shaped “Christmas trees” with garland
• Crowns of thorns and nails added as decor
• Emotional music and “Every Christian needs this” captions

And we talk honestly about:
• Why this feels more performative than helpful
• The difference between Easter imagery and celebrating the incarnation at Christmas
• Why you don’t need a cross-shaped tree for people to know you follow Jesus
• How trends like this can accidentally send a “look at me” message instead of pointing quietly to Christ
• Why nativity scenes are different (and why we should care about cultural accuracy, not white baby Jesus)

This is a laid-back, honest, slightly chaotic conversation about faith, life, and internet Christianity with room for real questions, real people, and real joy.

💬 Question for the comments:
What do you think about the cross Christmas tree trend? Helpful? Weird? Too much? Not a big deal?

Join the Conversation, Connect Online: linktr.ee/fremont.church