Tree Decorating & Ancestor Veneration Each year one of the time honored traditions is one of decorating the tree, strewing it in lights and ornaments. Yet hidden in plain sight is the unbroken tradition of ancestor veneration. Most of us have at least one antique or family ornament we often place on the tree, but there is more than that. Gnomes/Tomte, Angels, and even Bird ornaments are indicative of ancestral spirits. Tomte/Gnomes are ancestral house spirits, birds are often the form the soul takes in flight from the body, and when dressed in human clothes such as scarves and hats indicate most commonly female ancestral spirits, the "angels" we all know are actually based off European deities such as Eros or Swan Maidens. The idea of a "Guardian Angel" or people becoming angels in heaven. Is a folkloric adaptation of the European idea of Ancestral spirits and apotheosis. In other words those "angels" on the tree represent the ancestors looking down on us, not a Christian symbol in the slightest. -TLK