The choosing of and preparations made to one’s Christmas tree rank among the most fundamental and much cherished holiday customs and rituals. The Christmas tree is the one emblem most closely connected with the holiday season that almost everyone is familiar with.
We all take a great effort to pick the most beautiful and aromatic evergreen tree we can find and to position that tree in the living rooms of our homes as well as in the lobbies of our places of business.
Everyone enjoys going to the annual lighting of the local Christmas tree, which may take place in both metropolis and smaller communities. On Christmas Eve, it goes without saying that every child holds their breath in eager anticipation for Santa to bring them or their gifts.
It’s already that time of year again, which means it’s time to decorate the Christmas tree. Did we hear a groan? If you’re having trouble deciding which tree to get, maybe this may help.
Types of tree
If you are an old-fashioned person who has determined that a genuine Christmas tree, as opposed to an artificial one, is the best option for your family this year, then the first thing you need to do is figure out what sort of tree you want and where you should go to acquire it.
The majority of people in today’s world who want a genuine evergreen Christmas tree need just go to a commercial Christmas tree farm or nursery to get one. Alternatively, they may purchase one from a seller at a market who gets their trees transported in from a farm or nursery somewhere.
There is a wide variety of evergreens from which to choose a Christmas tree, but spruce, fir, cedar, pine, and cypress are by far the most common. It is widely accepted that the fir tree best exemplifies the spirit of Christmas.
On the other hand, it could be helpful for you to know that there is no such thing as a good or bad sort of tree and that fir trees come in a wide variety of kinds. Because there is no “official” tree in the traditional sense, you are free to choose anyone you like.
At the White House, Christmas trees have been made out of a wide variety of trees throughout the years. However, it seems that the Colorado Blue Spruce will serve as the National Christmas Tree for the grounds around the White House.
According to the National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA), the following are the ten types of Christmas trees that are grown and sold the most often in the United States:
- Fraser Fir
- Douglas Fir.
- Balsam Fir
- Colorado Blue Spruce
- Pine from Scotland
- Cedar of the Eastern Red Sea
- White Spruce
- White Pine from the East Coast
- The White Fir
- Virginia Pine
Before you can choose the Christmas tree that will serve your family in the most beneficial way, you will need to give a lot of thought to a lot of different factors.
Size of tree
The first thing to consider is how big the tree is. It is important that you have a clear understanding of the area that is available in which the tree will stand. You may want to bring along a tape measure to make sure that you don’t end up with a tree that is either too large or too tiny for the area that you have available to you.
Take measurements of the entrance as well as the wall in the area where the tree will be placed. It is not surprising that a ceiling height of six feet would preclude the use of a seven-foot tree in the space available. The same rule applies to the width of your door; for example, if your door is just five feet wide, you should prune your tree so that it is not as thick.
This makes sense, but you wouldn’t believe the number of times I’ve heard customers in the shop remark “yes it will fit,” just to have them return with the beast, at which point I am able to get the Christmas tree at a discount of twenty-five percent.
What to do if you have a small space?
People utilized table trees that were little more than two feet tall and set them on a table for each member of the family back in the old days, truly in the ancient days. Because the women’s liberation movement of the 1970s had not yet taken hold at the time, these trees were naturally live-cut trees. You only need to go to arts and crafts or hobby shops in order to get these little trees, and the process will not need much effort on your part.
Quality of needles
You need to look for a tree that is green all over and has no brown needles.
If the tree is twisted or knotted in any way, there is a good chance that it will not be able to fit into the area that you have designated for it. In that case, your investment would have been for nothing.
Grab a branch with both hands and pull it in a slow, controlled motion. If all or the majority of the needles remain on the tree, it indicates that the tree is healthy. The tree is in poor health if numerous leaves fall off.
Decoration style
After you have put the tree up in your house, the next step is to decorate it in a lovely way. Be careful to take safety measures to prevent a fire from starting.
How to decide whether to go with a real live Christmas tree or an artificial tree?
- Advantages of the real Christmas tree:
It is lovely to have a live tree since it smells wonderful, it brings the feeling of the outdoors into your home, and your neighbors will compliment you on the eco-friendly manner that you are celebrating Christmas.
- Disadvantages of the real Christmas tree:
However, live trees have to be watered every day, and even though dead trees continue to get watered, they continue to lose their needles like nobody’s business, and sometimes bugs will live in them and then emerge in droves because the dead tree is not providing them with the nourishment they require.
- Advantages of the artificial Christmas tree:
Although the cost of an artificial tree could be somewhat more than that of a real tree that has been chopped down, the investment in an artificial tree is a one-time thing since you can reuse it year after year.
- Disadvantages of the artificial Christmas tree:
The disadvantage of getting an artificial tree is that it requires assembly, which may take several days or lead to divorce — whichever occurs first. Additionally, when Christmas is over, you have to fold it back up, and for some reason, the box is smaller than it was before.
Regardless of the path you choose, you cannot claim that you were not informed. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and enjoy your fresh tree.
