Poll: Will Your Household Have a Christmas Tree? If So, What Type?
When my boyfriend moved in with me in February he said he’ll wanted to put up Christmas decorations, including a tree. I’m atheist and he’s agnostic, but Christmas is one of his favorite holidays. It was a long way off so I agreed.
A Christmas tree in a non-Christian home? Sure, a recent study even showed that Christmas trees appear in some Jewish households too:
About a third of Jews (32%) say they had a Christmas tree in their home last year, including 27% of Jews by religion and 51% of Jews of no religion. Erecting a Christmas tree is especially common among Jews who are married to non-Jews; 71% of this group says they put up a tree last year.
Compared with younger Jews, those 65 and older are somewhat less likely to have had a Christmas tree last year. And relatively few Orthodox Jews, including just 1% of Ultra-Orthodox Jews, say there was a Christmas tree in their home last year. (Pew Research)
By ’73 or ’74 we stopped using the aluminum tree, we got a new green artificial tree from Montgomery Ward or Sears. We never had a cut tree. My maternal grandparents were very religious Mennonites, but they never had a tree of any kind. Probably deemed too flashy.
For budget reasons we got a very small white artificial tree for this year, adorned with four South Park ornaments I had. We also decorated our front door. For next year I’m not crazy about a cut tree — what he’s used to. Why should a tree have to die just to hold lights & ornaments for a few weeks?
Next year I’d like to do a live Christmas tree, I just need to figure out where it’ll get planted after we’re done with it. Can it get planted in a city park?
The poll question this week asks if your household will have a tree and, if so, what type? The poll is in the right sidebar, results will be published on Wednesday December 25th.
— Steve Patterson
Nest year you’ll have two trees or do you intend to waste the white artificial? And how do you intend to get the tree home from the store? By bus???
As far as I know, you cannot plant in a park. Sure you can do it under cover of darkness but a good naturalist wouldn’t plant a tree of unknown origin in a park (pests and diseases) nor in winter. Depending on our winter, in most likely will not survive being transplanted anyways.
You overlooked the most obvious and eco choice: Norfolk pine. It’s yours year round.
As for me and mine, we use an artificial. Sure, we grew up with real trees, but about 5 years ago we were gifted with a artificial…have used it ever since and sure don’t miss picking up pine needles in July.
The small white tree we have this year was only $8, we’ll use it again next year to decorate outside our door or in his bathroom. We have one car but I’m a big fan of delivery.
“Big fan of delivery”…..Love how people promote bikes/busses/etc and complain about how people drive too much, but having other people deliver things seems to be a-ok.
Just like bicycling & public transit, home delivery is much better for the environment than everyone driving personal vehicles to buy goods. If a nursery can deliver live trees to 3-4 customers downtown in a single trip the impact will be less than if all went out and picked up trees.
Really? So first you have to drive/buss out to the store, then back….that’s 2 trips. Then the delivery vehicle which usually is worse for the environment (gas/smog/production) has to make the trip as well. Whereas shopping and taking with you…wham bam done.
In many cases, home delivery is not better for the environment. It just lets people sleep better at night.
It lets people avoid driving for 90% of their trips, knowing that there is an available option for the 10% which can’t be done by walking/bus.
IF, IF, IF public transit or biking is a viable option! For most of us, it’s not 90%, it’s more like 2%, which is why 98% of our trips are by private vehicles . . . .
And if you spend twice,, thrice or more times the time and environmental resources to get the same items (tree, tv, food) it’s not a bargain and it’s not eco-friendly.
Strikes me that if you’re driving to the store, it’s more convenient to take your purchase back in a vehicle than to arrange a separate delivery. (Unless it’s a giant tree which won’t fit in your car – but then the only way to purchase it is by delivery.) Granted (JZ71), there are not many parts of the St Louis area where you can get to necessary stores without a car. But in those places, delivery does make a difference.
I celebrate the winter solstice consumerism aspect of the holiday. As a kid we would cut down a spruce in the forest around the house. Now that I live in the city the wife and I just set up a fake 2m tree every year.
We get a cut tree every year, and I don’t feel guilty at all: it takes around five years to grow a Christmas tree, during which time they sequester carbon, provide habitat, etc. If not a tree farm, the land would just be a corn (or whatever) field, even worse for the environment. And we compost the tree afterwards, improving our garden. I’d much rather give some money to a local with a tree farm than an international conglomerate making fake trees in dodgy factories.