12 Days of Christmas Eco Edition - Day 1
Day 1: Christmas trees
Simple swaps to bring cheer to your home and the planet, starting with the humble tree
History of Christmas
Just before I dive into the options for Christmas Trees, I thought I would share a quick history about the day itself.
Whilst many associate Christmas nowadays with Jesus and or Santa, stockings, family, gifts, and in the UK, the Queen’s Speech, the middle of winter has long been celebrated in history. Before the arrival of Jesus, many European countries celebrated the winter solstice where they could start looking forward to lighter and longer days coming. The hope of spring and warmer weather.
In Rome, they celebrated Saturnalia which was a holiday honouring Saturn, god of agriculture. This lasted a full month where drink was plentiful and the usual order in Roman life was turned upside down. Peasants would command cities and slaves would become masters. Upper classes also celebrated the god of sun, Mithras. Interestingly enough, Mithra appears in Iranian, Greek and Indian (Mitra) history.
In 4th Century, Pope Julius decided on 25th December as the day to celebrate Jesus’ birth - before then, Easter was the main holiday celebrated in Christianity. It is commonly believed the reason this date was chosen by the Church was to adopt and align with pagan holidays to help ensure it was popular while allowing them the ability to dictate it.
Jump ahead to the 17th Century when Christmas was cancelled in the UK! Well, in a way. Puritans at the time, under Cromwell’s reign as Lord Protector (1653 - 58), saw Christmas as a wasteful festival which threatened Christian beliefs and encouraged immoral and decadent behaviour amongst the general population. Instead they wanted people to spend the time in contemplation. They went so far as to have soldiers patrol the streets and sieze any food they saw being prepped for Christmas!
The English ‘pilgrims’ who ‘travelled’ to America in the 1620s were even more orthadox in their beliefs and as a result, Christmas was not declared a federal holiday until 26th June 1870. In fact, Christmas was outlawed in Boston and anyone embracing any form of Christmas spirit was fined 5 shillings!
There is so much more about the history of Christmas but I shall stop here! Check out History.com for more information but hopefully this was a fun tease for you!
And now, on to the main show - my 12 Days of Christmas, #ecoedition starting with Day 1! Check out the quiz question at the bottom of the page and stay tuned for the answer tomorrow!
Day 1: Christmas Trees
In the Victorian era, Christmas Trees would have been put up a lot closer to Christmas Eve/ Day but many now pop them up from as soon as after Halloween. I personally prefer the first weekend in December and decorating a tree is one of my favourite past times. To me, it doesn’t feel like Christmas until the tree is up and those old (and new) mismatched collection of memories we call baubles are placed on it. My mum collects baubles from travels or special times to place on the tree as memories and I picked up this habit which I love. So decorating the tree tells a story for us, with a new chapter added each year.
Needleless (ha) to say, buying and decorating the tree is usually one of the first steps we follow to start the Christmas cheer in our homes.
But…did you know:
Estimates place it that the UK alone buys 7-8 million Christmas trees every year. 5 million of these are imported from other countries to give us our fix of bringing a tree indoors. The Christmas Tree is a newer concept in Australia so figures are low, while the US has a much higher figure at 35 - 40 million a year. If Wikipedia is to be believed, Denmark is a major producer of trees and they export 90% of them to Europe.
There is a bit of a debate about a plastic tree vs a real tree…but what about the 3rd and 4th options, renting a tree and making your own?
What option will you choose this year? Will this post shift your mindset?
Real Trees
It takes seven years to grow a 2m Christmas tree and during that time, it traps CO2 and uses 10 x less resources than artificial tree factories. At the end of it’s use, a real tree creates 3.5kg of emissions when chipped / incinerated. If it decomposes in landfill though, this increases to 16kgs. When looking for the right tree, please check it is Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Soil Association approved. You can also check if the supplier plants another tree for each one cut down.
Most councils in the UK now support real tree collections. There are also private companies that will collect for a little fee, so if your council doesn’t organise a free tree collection, why not spread the cost and check with neighbours to organise one together.
Plastic Trees
A 6ft artificial tree creates 40kg of emissions if thrown in landfill and you have to have a tree for at least 10 years (likely 12+) in order to offsett the emissions from production and transport. If you want to invest in a plastic tree, why not check out second hand sites first?
When you are ready to dispose of it, please put it in your general waste bin, especially if it is flocked (made to look like it has snow on it). You could also look to donate it to a local charity shop or retirement home if it is still in good condition. Alternatively, if it is a little worse for wear, why not trim off some of the better branches and make a centre piece or napkin decorations for the following year from it?
Renting Trees
This is a newer idea and I have tried and loved this. There are companies set up that will grow trees and offer you a choice of sizes. They will drop it off on a set date, provide instructions for you to care for it and agree when they will collect it. You can even request teh same tree for the following year!
Some places will also allow you to keep the tree i.e. plant it at home or keep it growing in its pot for another year. Buying a small potted tree is a fun way to get children excited about growing their own Christmas tree moving forwards too, and something they can look after year round plus will grow with them.
When renting a tree, you must make sure you follow their guidelines for care, so your tree is still alive when they pick it up otherwise you will still be charged for it. I have gathered a list of companies that offer this for you to check out:
RentXMasTree and Living Christmas (CA, USA)
The Christmas Tree Stand (PA, USA)
Rent A Christmas (NY, USA)
London Christmas Tree Rental (London, UK)
Love A Christmas Tree (across England)
Rental Clause (England)
Make your own
This is where you can be as creative as you want - let loose with inspiration!
Ideas that I have seen for inspiration for you are:
Driftwood trees - use these year after year with no minimum amount of time to offset the limited emissions! You can make your own from salvaged wood or invest in one. Just do some research on the company to check where they sourced the wood and how far it will need to travel to get to you.
A wall tree hanging
A tree made from books - for the reader enthusiast
A tree from instruments - for those in love with music
A tree from pine ones, cardboard, plastic bottles, toilet rolls or cans…the world of tree making from items in your house is endless!
FUN QUIZ QUESTION - find out the answer tomorrow!
In 1848 Queen Victoria and Prince Albert did what which involved a Christmas tree?
Good luck and happy Christmas Tree hunting!
Please note, I am not affiliated with any company mentioned in this post.