Oh, Karma, don’t be so overly dramatic! The tree grew on a tree farm for the express purpose of serving to bring joy and a touch of nature to someone’s Christmas celebration. Traditionally, the tree is put up and decorated on Christmas Eve, then taken down after the Epiphany (Feast of the Three Kings, 6 January originally–now altered). Hence, the “12 days of Christmas” leading up to Epiphany.
With the coming of my stubborn wife came an aluminum monstrosity. Every year I haul this dusty decaying ghost of Christmas past out of the basement to it’s annual reign of ugliness in the living room. I pray for the eventual demise of this horror so I may relive my youth by taking a bow saw and $70 in hand to the tree farm.
I have a 4-ft Charlie Brown-like tree, which when decorated, looks just like the real thing. I’d love a real one, but budget forbids and apartment managers strongly discourage.
Millions of plastic bags are sacrificed to make artificial Christmas trees. So why not use a renewable resource like wood & needles? Of course, those wood & needles help cleanse our atmosphere of nasty old pollutants and extraneous CO2. So bundling those nasty old plastic bags seems to be a good use for them after all. O the choices and consequence of choices! Think hard and make intentional choices is the best we can hope for.
Exactly, right folks. The folks who bring us Christmas trees don’t go out in the forest and chop down wild trees – they PLANT trees just like other farmers plant corn or soy beans.
In fact, if we didn’t buy natural trees, all that land would probably be turned over to some other crop that is less nature-friendly than trees (like corn or soybeans).
Wise up. It’s good to eco-sensitive, but you gotta use your brain.
tdawn has the right idea. I use my meyer lemon… I bring it indoors and put it under grow-lights in October, and by December it’s blooming all over. I don’t hang lights on it, but it can handle lightweight ornaments, and lemon blossoms smell at least as good as pine… without the needles on the floor.
The old inhumane way of raising veal, keeping a calf tied up in a small pen, was never common and is now virtually nonexistent. Veal is pretty much raised the same way as other food animals. Whether you like that is up to you.
Let me explain an obvious but seldom-considered part of the dairy industry. To have milk, you need a cow. To have a cow, you have to start with a small cow and raise it until it is big. To have a small cow, you need a pregnant cow. Half the time, that calf will turn out to be male. They don’t produce much milk.
You have three choices of what to do with that male calf: kill it and throw it in a ditch, raise it for veal, or castrate it and raise it for beef.
If you don’t like it, you can stop using dairy products. I’m sure some of you have already.
Our favorite Christmas tree was when I was in the Army. We’d just finished a move, from Germany to California, not long before Christmas. There was the usual snafu involving our household goods and everything was delayed until February. So there we were in California, 100’s of miles from home, a new baby and none of our families Christmas items. Fortunately Army families generally take care of each other and many people donated extra decorations that they had. We still have and treasure many of them. They are a wonderful memory of a special Christmas when our kids were little.
ladywolf17 over 14 years ago
This is why I use an artificial Christmas tree.
Sisyphos over 14 years ago
Oh, Karma, don’t be so overly dramatic! The tree grew on a tree farm for the express purpose of serving to bring joy and a touch of nature to someone’s Christmas celebration. Traditionally, the tree is put up and decorated on Christmas Eve, then taken down after the Epiphany (Feast of the Three Kings, 6 January originally–now altered). Hence, the “12 days of Christmas” leading up to Epiphany.
Rakkav over 14 years ago
I notice that the Veal of Botany is hanging its head like the Brontosaurus of Syncretism.
lewisbower over 14 years ago
With the coming of my stubborn wife came an aluminum monstrosity. Every year I haul this dusty decaying ghost of Christmas past out of the basement to it’s annual reign of ugliness in the living room. I pray for the eventual demise of this horror so I may relive my youth by taking a bow saw and $70 in hand to the tree farm.
phaze58 over 14 years ago
And don’t forget IT’s CHRISTMAS!
Charles Brobst Premium Member over 14 years ago
It’s a crop. People depend upon it for a livelihood.
Justjoust Premium Member over 14 years ago
I posted a new blog yesterday. www.mythtickle.wordpress.com Book update!
j
celeconecca over 14 years ago
I have a 4-ft Charlie Brown-like tree, which when decorated, looks just like the real thing. I’d love a real one, but budget forbids and apartment managers strongly discourage.
tdawn over 14 years ago
My norfolk island pine becomes my Christmas tree when I decorate it each year, and the rest of the year I still have a nice houseplant.
jestrfyl over 14 years ago
Millions of plastic bags are sacrificed to make artificial Christmas trees. So why not use a renewable resource like wood & needles? Of course, those wood & needles help cleanse our atmosphere of nasty old pollutants and extraneous CO2. So bundling those nasty old plastic bags seems to be a good use for them after all. O the choices and consequence of choices! Think hard and make intentional choices is the best we can hope for.
Madman2001 over 14 years ago
Exactly, right folks. The folks who bring us Christmas trees don’t go out in the forest and chop down wild trees – they PLANT trees just like other farmers plant corn or soy beans.
In fact, if we didn’t buy natural trees, all that land would probably be turned over to some other crop that is less nature-friendly than trees (like corn or soybeans).
Wise up. It’s good to eco-sensitive, but you gotta use your brain.
ChiehHsia over 14 years ago
tdawn has the right idea. I use my meyer lemon… I bring it indoors and put it under grow-lights in October, and by December it’s blooming all over. I don’t hang lights on it, but it can handle lightweight ornaments, and lemon blossoms smell at least as good as pine… without the needles on the floor.
ReaderLady over 14 years ago
Sheesh! Now I’m thinking about having veal parmesean.
mntim over 14 years ago
The old inhumane way of raising veal, keeping a calf tied up in a small pen, was never common and is now virtually nonexistent. Veal is pretty much raised the same way as other food animals. Whether you like that is up to you.
Let me explain an obvious but seldom-considered part of the dairy industry. To have milk, you need a cow. To have a cow, you have to start with a small cow and raise it until it is big. To have a small cow, you need a pregnant cow. Half the time, that calf will turn out to be male. They don’t produce much milk.
You have three choices of what to do with that male calf: kill it and throw it in a ditch, raise it for veal, or castrate it and raise it for beef.
If you don’t like it, you can stop using dairy products. I’m sure some of you have already.
Coyoty Premium Member over 14 years ago
I wouldn’t tell her what’s for Christmas dinner.
Durak Premium Member over 14 years ago
Our favorite Christmas tree was when I was in the Army. We’d just finished a move, from Germany to California, not long before Christmas. There was the usual snafu involving our household goods and everything was delayed until February. So there we were in California, 100’s of miles from home, a new baby and none of our families Christmas items. Fortunately Army families generally take care of each other and many people donated extra decorations that they had. We still have and treasure many of them. They are a wonderful memory of a special Christmas when our kids were little.
Charles Weir over 14 years ago
This one is my wife’s favorite.