by Mj Ferruzza

Created on: December 11, 2007

The older and more cynical I have become over the years,
I scratch my head and ask why a live tree has to be hewed
and toted into a house as a way to celebrate the birth
of Lord Jesus? Anyone see a fir tree in the sands of the
Middle East? I may have missed that in the New Testament.
The Christmas tree tradition was passed to us from Germans
who immigrated here in the late 1800s.

Formerly lit by incendiary candles, these trees became expensive,
flocked and artificially popular with strands of UL approved lights.
During the 1950s, the all American Dad went from bulb to bulb
seeking the one that kept the rest of the strand in the dark.
Now in the Age of Global Warming, we may need every tree available.
Trees take in CO2 (the Global Warming culprit) and release oxygen.
As a matter of fact, if hemp was used industrially to make our
commercial pulp and paper, we would could save hundreds of thousands
of trees every year. But I digress.
A live tree placed in a home for a less than month long stay is almost
an insult to our environment. We have the alternatives available at
almost every outlet. Today's artificial trees look better than most
misshaped live ones. The addition of pine scented plug-ins complete
the illusion.
Will an artificial tree revolution put an end to tree farms? Probably
not. There is always a call for live trees, hopefully planted for a
long extended life around your house or neighborhood.

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