Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree!

As the Obama Administration introduces tax on Christmas trees, is one of the oldest seasonal traditions under threat from the modern day Grinch?

There is something intrinsically magical in the Christmas tree; its rustic scent, its eternal greenness, its charismatic grandeur, majestically guarding the array of wrapped parcels sheltering beneath. Christmas starts with the tree-selecting your very own, inspecting the line-up as though they were a procession of festive ambassadors; embellishing the fresh greenery with twinkling lights and multicoloured jewels. Yes, Christmas can only start with the tree.

Just as Saint Patrick used the shamrock to explain the holy trinity, the triangular shape of the fir tree was used in the same teaching. Even before Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year had special significance for people in winter. Many people believed that evergreens would keep away witches, evil spirits and illnesses. Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition but the first decorated tree is rumoured to have been in Latvia in the early 1500s. The anticipated countdown to streets and cities being illuminated by fairy lights is thanks to the Protestant reformer Martin Luther. After admiring the sky of stars above the forest, he tried to recreate the wonderment for his children by placing lighted candles on the tree.   However, despite years of enchantment, there still appears to be the odd modern day Grinch, trying to hack at the joviality of this festive tradition.  

Earlier this week, Barack Obama announced that there would be a tax charge on Christmas firs to ‘improve the image and marketing of Christmas trees’.  The American leader assured it would serve as a marketing fund for the Christmas tree industry and the program was in fact requested by the tree growers association. Yet even still, is there not something inherently immoral about imposing taxes on a symbol of hope and goodwill? It tinges the symbol of peace and innocence with a darker shade, and suggests there is monetary motivation behind even the most pure of things. The glistening lights are supposed to scintillate charm not glisten with capitalist greed. The obligation to splurge in the month of December is proving challenging enough in this current economy without placing extra cost on, let’s face it, a December necessity.

The Christmas tree cheer has not escaped the radar of the environmentalists, either. Tree huggers have always been anxious over the ritual of adorning a fresh tree all in the name of merriment. They do have some cause for concern as statistics show numbers of the tree are dwindling.  It is estimated that less than 700,000 were planted each year in Ireland since 2004. ‘If growers achieve an 85% average yield then less than 600,000 trees will be available from 2011 onwards,’ says Dermot Page from the Irish Christmas Tree Growers. The environmentalists may have a point, it would seem. Another issue is the fact of chemicals. Fir trees, like any other crop, are vulnerable to attack from aphids, mites and other pests and diseases. This means that many farmers turn to chemicals, such as the broad-spectrum herbicide glyphosate which is, according to the Pesticide Action Network, the most frequent cause of complaints and poisoning incidents. But there would have to be another solution to this Christmas tree shortage rather than abstain. President Teddy Roosevelt once famously refused to display a Christmas tree in the white house, claiming that it ‘damaged the environment.’  His children subsequently kept one hidden in their wardrobe, their imagination and lust for enchantment, triumphing over the green Grinch.

And then there’s the dreaded of all woodland trees- the artificial substitute. The mock trees are actually less environmentally friendly: their transportation from the Far East where they are manufactured adds to the tree’s carbon footprint while their metal and plastic bodies make them non-bio-degradable. These imposters spurted to success, reaping the rewards without any of the hard work whereas it takes the real tree seven to ten years to reach the minimum height of two metres. Synthetic trees have become hugely popular, favoured for their durability and for the fact that they do not scatter their pine needles.  True they represent the sacred symbolism in their pyramid formation but do they encapsulate the true authenticity and atmosphere of the season? Not pine, spruce or fir but glittered, frosted and pink. Less Charles Dickens, more Katie Price.

 The artificial tree’s refusal to die is often regarded as the main advantage over the real thing. As Christmas starts with the tree, it ends with it too. The branches are stripped of its embellishments, it is robbed of its star and it topples on the day of the epiphany after weeks of frenzied excitement. The brown, withered remnant of merry indulgence lying in the garden is often the closing scene to the annual festivities. Yet is all this not worth the inherent allure of the fresh felled Christmas tree? The smell, the grandeur the emerald green? The Grinch they say is as ‘cuddly as a cactus’, but the Christmas tree- Oh Christmas tree! Leave the leaves on this antique tradition unchanging.