Not every holiday reveller can erect the equivalent of the majestic Christmas tree that goes up every season at the Rockefeller Center in New York City.
The 2024 version of the woody Rockefeller spectacle — a massive Massachusetts Norway spruce about 22 metres tall — requires 50,000 lights strung on eight kilometres of wire.
But as long as a holiday tree is real, towering height isn’t the be-all and end-all, to which Jennifer Miller can attest.
Miller, who manages the 30-year-old Sandpiper tree farm operation a 20-minute drive from Thunder Bay, said the allure of cutting down your own Christmas tree hasn’t lost its charm.
“You know the tree is fresh, and it hasn’t been shipped,” Miller said last week. “Lots of people come out, they take pictures — it’s a real family outing.”
According to the Canadian Christmas Tree Association, about 33,000 hectares of this country’s farm land are collectively set aside for the cultivation of traditional holiday trees like white spruce, blue spruce and balsam fir.
“As the trees are harvested, new ones are already being grown in transplant beds to take their place in the plantation,” the association, which is based north of Toronto, says on its website.
In the 1950s, most holiday trees were cut from forests. Currently, “98 per cent of the Canadian production comes from Christmas tree farms,” says the association.
It notes that trees destined to light up somebody’s living room still create oxygen and absorb carbon while they’re growing.
It’s believed the Christmas tree began as a German tradition about four centuries ago.
At the Sandpiper farm, revellers can choose from about 700 spruce and fir trees that are ready to be harvested this season.
Miller said she is partial to the blue spruce because its branches are nicely spread for holding decorations.
When harvested, the trees are about 2 1/2 metres high. Pruning to create the coveted bushy shape begins in late summer and early fall.
Trees that are well-watered after they’ve been cut down, and occasionally fortified with a sugary drink, usually last the entire holiday season.
“We’ve seen some go well into February,” Miller said. It’s a good idea to give the base of a tree another trim before it’s inserted into a stand, she added.
The Sandpiper operation is located on Highway 130 in Oliver Paipoonge. Trees are available for sale Friday to Sunday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
