Mary Alice and I traditionally go to a Christmas tree farm, where we select either a tree that we can cut ourselves or one that has been cut.

Selecting a tree while out in the field is tricky because they do not appear gigantic until you get them in your home.

My part of decorating is to place the tree in the stand and put the strings of lights on. It usually takes Mary Alice a whole day to trim the tree because each decoration must be in just the right spot. When our children were small, they would help to decorate the tree; however, after they went to bed, Mary Alice would make some changes. 

Many of our friends have artificial trees, and I often hear someone say that buying a fresh tree is not environmentally correct. I read an article in a pamphlet from Penn State’s College of Agricultural Science stating that buying a real Christmas tree is good for the environment and for the economy. Christmas trees grown in the United States provide daily oxygen requirements for millions of people, and they are also a renewable resource.

There are 15,000 Christmas tree growers in the United States that employ 100,000 people. In Pennsylvania, there are 2,000 Christmas tree growers that grow 46 million trees. Two million of these are harvested each year, with six million planted each year to replace those cut. Approximately 34 million trees are sold every year, and more than enough seedlings are planted each year to replace the trees cut.

Depending on the species of the tree, it will take seven to ten years to produce a marketable tree.

Here in the United States, the Christmas tree has been a part of our holiday celebration for as long as we have been a country. Historians can trace countless sources that evolved into our present-day custom of using a Christmas tree.

However, it is generally agreed upon that the use of an evergreen tree as part of the traditional Christmas celebration started four-hundred years ago in Germany and spread to most of Northern Europe by the 19th century. Later, Hessian mercenaries brought the custom to America during the American Revolution.

In 1851, the first recorded Christmas tree retail lot was set up in New York City by Mark Carr. Mark had two sleds pulled by oxen, which were loaded with trees from his land in Pennsylvania and hauled to the New York City.

In 1889, Benjamin Harrison trimmed the first White House Christmas tree, which was placed in the oval study that was used as a library on the second floor.

In 1923, the first outdoor tree was lit by President Coolidge on the White House lawn, establishing the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony. The president declined when asked to say a few words in the NBC microphones, however, he changed his mind two years later and the first Presidential Christmas message was broadcasted.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, who grew Christmas trees as a cash crop on his Hyde Park estate, always listed his occupation as farmer on government forms.

The national Christmas tree was dimmed during the World War II blackout of the capitol and again — except for the star at the top — in 1979 and 1980 in remembrance of the 52 hostages held in Iran.

Another tradition that came to America from Europe was the yule log. Today the burning of a yule log is a Christmas tradition that has all but died out. The reason is that fireplaces are no longer needed in our homes. The yule log ritual is an old ceremony, which came to America as an English custom.

It is thought to lie in the ancient tradition of tree worship. In early times when tribes began to settle in one spot, land was cleared for dwellings, with one central grove of trees always spared. In the middle of the grove, the mother tree symbolized the source of all life for the settlers.

Our word yule comes from the Old English word geol, which was originally the name of a pre-Christian mid-winter festival but later came to be applied to Christmas. The word is related to Old Norse jol, which was a mid-winter festival. There have been speculations that the word might have come from the Indo-European word qwelo, which stood for go round, denoting etymologically the turn of the year.

The English version of the yule log ritual is the one best known. On Christmas Eve, members of the household went into the woods to find and cut a large tree, preferably an oak. The size was important because the yule log had to burn throughout the twelve days of Christmas. Once cut the log was dragged home, with as many people as possible grabbing onto the ropes to help pull the log, for it was believed that this would bring good luck in the New Year.

The yule log was put into the large open hearth of a fireplace and lit with a piece of the previous year’s log that had been carefully preserved. This ensured the continuity of good fortune, not only from year to year, but also, from generation to generation.

One popular aspect of the yule log tradition was that no unnecessary work would take place in or around the house as long as the log burned. When the twelve days of Christmas passed, the remaining wood was carefully stored until the next year. These pieces were usually stored under the bed of the mistress, where it was to protect the home from fire, lightning and all ailments during the coming year.

The yule ashes were either mixed with livestock feed or spread on the fields to ensure the health of the animals and the crops.

The tradition of the yule log was a symbol of mankind’s dependence on the forest, and although we no longer burn the yule log, we still depend on the forest for our survival.

Bill Bower is a retired Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Officer. Read his blog and listen to his podcasts on the outdoors at www.onemaningreen.com.