It was a snowy Christmas Eve, many years ago, and Santa Claus was having a bad night.

The elves had been hard hit by a terrible sneezing virus. Many of the toys had to be cleaned off with sanitary wipes, and production was days behind schedule.

Then Mrs. Claus surprised Santa with some good news. “My mother is coming to visit, and she can stay the whole week!”

Muttering under his breath, he went outside to harness the reindeer. Where he learned that Blitzen had baked them some gingerbread, laced with something he thought was oregano. So all the reindeer were scattered around, staring up in awe at the northern lights.

Santa began to load the sleigh and noticed that one of the runners was loose. When he bent down to tighten it, the whole sleigh fell over on its side, capsizing a giant sack of toys. Quite a few presents tumbled out onto the ground. The reindeer were laughing too hard to be of any real help. After cleaning up the mess and wiping all the snow off the gifts, Santa’s fingers were numb and red, and his sense of humor had been stretched to the breaking point.

Grumbling a steady stream of ancient Norse curses, Santa stomped up the stairs into the kitchen to pour himself a large mug of steaming hot coffee spiked with rum. When he opened the liquor cabinet, he discovered that Mrs. Claus had hidden the rum. Tearing the cupboards apart, he finally found a half-empty bottle of peppermint schnapps from several years ago. He emptied its entire contents into the coffee pot, and reached across the counter to get his oversized “Ho Ho Ho” mug.

But just at that moment, the doorbell rang. Santa was so startled that he dropped the coffee pot. It shattered into a thousand tiny sharp pieces. The peppermint schnapps and coffee seeped through the wooden floorboards, down into the workshop below. He could hear the elves shouting in alarm.

Santa stomped over to the kitchen door and opened it.

There before him was a beautiful, shining Christmas Star holding a tree. The star spoke to him in a radiant voice filled with joy and amusement. “Santa! Merry Christmas! Isn’t this a lovely Christmas Eve? Why it smells so good here, just like peppermint and coffee! I have brought you this beautiful Christmas tree for your workshop! Isn’t it lovely? It is absolutely perfect in every way! Just like me! Where would you like me to stick the tree?”

And that’s how it all started. The famous and much-beloved holiday tradition of the star on top of the Christmas tree.