Edward
Pretty lights and laughing people were not high on Edward's list of things to do that evening. But, if he expected to get back into business, he needed to get a lay of the world and these events were always invaluable for cluing a person in to who was who and where the money was likely to come from. He could hardly live on the substantial money his previous life had left behind forever. Not in the manner he'd become accustomed to, at least.
Of course, his disdain for happy celebrations was hidden behind a slight smirk and existed solely on an interpersonal level. On an intellectual level, he found traditions such as this fascinating to examine from an archaeological and anthropological perspective. That was one thing facing the reality of his own death and rebirth had done for him. It had given him an even greater appreciation for the aspects of society one saw in the traditions that lasted through time.
This ceremony was centuries old. The mythology it celebrated was more than two thousand years old. The lights were symbolic. The trees were as well. Many of the traditional foods of the season had their own significance and history.
Some things had changed, adapted over time. But, their origins were carefully hidden in the details if one took the time to look.
Not, he mused as he wandered through the crowd with a glass of champagne held absently in one hand, that many people present would actually understand any of that history. Even amoung the 'pure', tradition and history only went so far as their own lines and values, rarely delving into the greater mysteries of mankind.