By Abraham Freeman-Moore
December 8, 2024
My four siblings and I would pile into our parent's two vehicles. Most of us rode with my mom while one of my siblings would ride with my dad, in whichever truck he had at the time. We would meet at our usual rendezvous point, the Kula Botanical Garden. My mother would speed up the curvy roads as my dad would take his time. However, if he wanted to go fast he probably couldn't. The old engine would protest traveling up the steep roads to upcountry.
As I opened the door to the grassy parking lot, the crisp perfume of the Christmas trees embraced me. We would walk amongst the trees that had been cut that day. Stating that some were too short, while others had holes. My mother liked to have lower-hanging branches while my dad liked the shorter trees. I would guess he liked the shorter ones since he was the one hauling them through the garage, kitchen, and to whichever corner of the living room that my mom chose that year.
My parents to this day, decorate a living Christmas tree. I followed suit until two years ago when my wife and I transitioned to a plastic one. Artificial sounds more respectable than a plastic one, though I am calling it what it is. Like with anything in life, there are pros and cons to living and plastic trees.
Growing up I was always told that the Christmas tree was Pagan in design. However, through research, I found this is not the whole story. Before we continue I need to define the word Pagan. Pagans or pagans are people who practice paganism. Paganism is the “spiritual beliefs and practices other than those of Judaism, Islam, or especially Christianity” (Paganism Definition).
So, now I want you to imagine yourself in a cabin in the dead of winter on the border between France and Germany. There is no electricity, the only heat comes from your clothes and a fire. You look out your window and it’s gray, white, and devoid of life. Except there are evergreen trees, and Christmas trees, these have life. Over the centuries people started bringing in branches from the trees to remind themselves of the hope of life to come in the spring (Rätsch).
The practice of cutting down evergreen trees and branches occurred often enough that a law was written to stop the act or limit it to a minimum in 1494. Eventually, a law forbade it outright in 1554. Deforestation has been going on for a long, long time (Brunner).
Now the year is 1604, and the first modern-day Christmas tree was created in Strasbourg Alsace. The Christians thought this practice to be hedonistic, though they eventually absorbed the practice. (Rätsch).
The Christmas tree has endured from being banned, to being celebrated by hanging it upside down, to replacing the tree altogether with a plastic replica.
My wife and I usually set up our Christmas tree within the first week of December. I have come to despise the process, unfortunately. The reason is I don’t like the dry texture of the plastic needles of the tree. Each year the tree is pulled from its brown cardboard box that it arrived in from Amazon two years ago. Once on the stand, I began the process of lowering the large branches, and straightening the finger-like branches into a fan shape became tedious. This year to lessen my discomfort I wore a pair of reusable rubber gloves for the entire process. Once erected the four-foot tree is the perfect size for our one-bedroom apartment.
So, why did we transition to a plastic tree you may ask? Well, that is a good question. In short, it came down to compromise. My wife grew up with artificial trees and thus sold me on the pros. My wife at the time had sensitivities to pollens along with other allergens. Thus a plastic tree solved this. My tree-hugging soul loved the idea of sparing an infant tree like a Blue Spruce which can live for “600 years or more” (Blue). The cost is cheaper, not always in the short term, but definitely in the long term.
Then I wrote this article and found that I was wrong, the research shows living trees are better for the environment and our health. Well, I should have done my research two years ago. The University of Utah wrote that “2 billion pounds of carbon for plastic trees [was created], in comparison to 200 million pounds for real trees, based on the average sales each year” (Potter). Unfortunately, artificial trees have also been shown to bring lead into homes (Maas)
In all honesty, the writing of this blog made me realize my love for a real Christmas tree. The smell of pine when you walk through the door and the daily watering are some of the traditions that I grew up with. I remember my mom having to vacuum the living room each day to suck up the pine needles that were dropped.
Today we made a bold move. We visited Watson’s Greenhouse and Nursery and bought a three-and-a-half-foot Noble Fir Christmas tree. I loved walking amongst the rows of six to eight-foot trees as some stood leaning against each other while others like our shorter one were held up by a string of twine reaching from the rafters above to the top of the tree.
Was this the best financial decision to buy another tree? Nope. And was it the best environmental option even though I had an artificial tree? I’m not sure. With all of the modern-day inventions, it’s sometimes nice to go back to a simpler time. One that is grown by nature.
References
“Blue Spruce.” Picea Pungens Engelm, United States Department of Agriculture, www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/misc/ag_654/volume_1/picea/pungens.htm. Accessed 7 Dec. 2024.
Brunner, Bernd. Inventing the Christmas Tree. United Kingdom, Yale University Press, 2012.
Maas, Richard P., Steven C. Patch, and Tamara J. Pandolfo. "Artificial Christmas trees: how real are the lead exposure risks?." Journal of Environmental Health 67.5 (2004).
“Paganism Definition & Meaning.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paganism. Accessed 7 Dec. 2024.
Potter, Lisa, and Tegan Lengyel. “Christmas Trees and Climate Change.” THEU, The University of Utah, 15 Dec. 2023, attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff/christmas-trees-and-climate-change/.
Rätsch, Christian, and M?ller-Ebeling, Claudia. Pagan Christmas: The Plants, Spirits, and Rituals at the Origins of Yuletide. United States, Inner Traditions International, Limited, 2006.
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