Dismantling my tree left me haunted by the ghosts of Christmases past | Digested week

As I untangled the tinsel, I wondered how much longer the magic of the festive season would hold

As we age, some things fade, while others take on greater significance. It's a line that sounds lifted from a Call the Midwife voiceover, but as the new year begins, it also strikes me as true. For the first time this year, I'm aware of a shift in emphasis, from Christmas Day itself - a pain of logistics and expectation management - to the period directly afterwards. Specifically, an occasion that before now I've never felt to be any such thing: the taking down of the tree.