The roots of our Holiday Christmas Trees run deep in human history. Early Rome marked the winter solstice with its Saturnalia festival honoring Saturn, the god of agriculture. To observe the occasion, Romans decorated their homes and temples with evergreen wreaths. Druid priests of ancient Celtic culture in Northern Europe arranged evergreen sprigs and branches to symbolize everlasting life. As winter days grew darker, the Norse Vikings draped boughs of mistletoe – a semi-parasitic evergreen shrub – as a metaphor of love and betrayal.
By Dennis McLaughlin, McLaughlin Writers LLC. Sources: Julia Musto, The Independent, December 2, 2024, Independent Digital News & Media Ltd, UK; Wall Street Journal, November 28, 2024; Mordor Intelligence, India; A&E Networks (formerly the History Channel), a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Walt Disney Company.

Hurricane Helene And Christmas Cheer

The United States is home to a vast, dynamic Christmas tree industry. Evergreens are harvested across all 50 states. In 2022, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported the U.S. is the world’s largest market for Christmas trees. That’s quite an achievement considering the country was late to the historical yuletide celebrations by several millennia, give or take a century or two.

Germany is credited with starting the modern Christmas tree tradition – as we now know it – in the 16th Century  when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. It is not surprising that the tree was adopted so late in America, noted The History Channel in a November 28, 2023 program. New England’s first Puritan leaders viewed Christmas celebrations as unholy, according to Channel’s editors who said, “Pilgrim governor William Bradford tried hard to stamp out pagan mockery of the observance, penalizing any frivolity.” In 1659, the General Court of Massachusetts enacted a law making any observance of December 25 an offense punishable with jail time. People could be fined for draping decorations on their property and in their homes. Such stern measures were common until the influx of German and Irish immigrants in the 1800s helped make Christmas trees ubiquitous in American life.

Now there are over 15,000 farms producing Christmas trees on plots measuring 2 to 9,000 acres in size. Larger farms dominate the market with around 434 farms controlling 75% of the supply. In recent years, the market has benefited from rising demand for eco-friendly products and that is ensuring a steady growth of natural Christmas tree production. Environmental consciousness, especially among millennials, has boosted the demand for natural trees as a more sustainable alternative to artificial trees.

One of the main factors driving the sales of natural trees is the competitive pricing compared to artificial trees. In 2022, natural trees cost an average of $81 per tree, while artificial trees were priced higher at $107 per tree. Additionally, accessibility to freshly cut trees through online and offline platforms has contributed to the rising sales of real Christmas trees. The convenience of buying natural trees online has particularly appealed to eco-conscious millennials.

The U.S. is the hub for the global Christmas tree market, according to World Population Review, a research firm based in Southern California. It notes that North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin lead in production and sales of Christmas trees. The Michigan Christmas Tree Association says around 30 million natural Christmas trees are sold annually in the U.S. Over 100 million trees currently are growing nationwide to ensure Americans a steady supply for years. Mordor Intelligence, India, has valued the North America Christmas tree market at $1.38 billion for 2024, and has forecast it to reach $1.71 billion by 2029. As sustainability gains importance, the North American natural Christmas tree market is expected to further expand in the coming years.

But……….

This year’s Christmas tree market hasn’t been all that merry with tidings of comfort and joy. The catastrophic flooding and destruction that Hurricane Helene unleashed on western North Carolina caused upwards of $53 billion in damages and recovery costs. “It’s the hardest year ever in North Carolina agriculture,” said Lee Wicker, deputy director of the North Carolina Growers Association, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal in late November.

Among Helene’s victims was Trinity Tree Company-Avery Farms, located in western North Carolina. The family-owned farm and Christmas tree operation has been in business since the early 1700s, when the queen of England ceded the land to the Avery family as a gift. On September 27, Helene dumped as much as 36 inches of rain and registered wind speeds as high as 175 MPH.

“Helene hit our farm with aggression,” posted the family on its website, “wiping out our home, the barn, our office space, farm equipment, hauling trailers, dump trucks and all of our farm vehicles.” Some 60,000 Christmas trees, representing a third of the farm’s Christmas tree crop, were damaged. Many of the trees were partially submerged by floodwater, the family said. “Others were covered in silt that resists washing.” Over the last couple of months Avery Farms has been salvaging what it can. The Wall Street Journal reported the staff is cutting tree tops off for table displays and using any salvageable greenery to make 3,000 wreaths, twice the normal number. “We’re cleaning what we can and we’re making little 4-foot trees out of 8-foot trees,” said Waightstill Avery III, scion to the three-century old farm operation.

Looking at the bright side of the situation, the North Carolina Christmas Tree Association says the current Christmas tree inventory should be enough to supply everyone who wants a real tree this year. But growers say that buyers might need to adjust their expectations for next year. The damage Helene inflicted on the Christmas tree crop this year will impact the Christmas tree industry many years to come. The Wall Street Journal pointed out that it takes roughly 10 years to produce a full-size Fraser fir, which grows about a foot a year. Many of the trees that were damaged were several years from maturity, explained The Wall Street Journal. That could affect supply for five or six years. Seedlings now being tended to in a nursery will require even more time before being planted. 