Nothing makes your home feel more christmasy than having a beautifully adorned, real balsam or fir tree in your living room. A friend recently asked me on twitter why I would choose to cloth diaper but then go out and cut down a real tree just to keep it in my living room for a few weeks. Well, here is the answer to that very good question!
If people would do the research on real trees vs. fake trees they would realize that fake trees are more detrimental to our planet than using a real tree. 85% of all plastic trees are made in China. The needles on fake trees are made from PVC, a major source of dioxins and are usually stabilized with lead which can break free as harmful dust. The workers that make these trees in factories are subjected to these awful chemicals. When the dust breaks loose on the trees in your home your family is breathing in lead. Then plastic trees ultimately end up in landfills where they take millions of years to break down. A real tree can later be used as mulch and “returned to the earth.” Furthermore, xmas trees are usually grown on land that couldn’t otherwise be used for crops and every tree that is cut down is replaced by a new one.
In addition, I just hate this whole artificial trend that the world seems to be on right now. Fake plastic trees (also a fantastic radio head song), fake boobs, fake plants, fake grass, fake plastic kids toys, fake brick on a house, fake people. The world is filled with all of this culch. What happened to nice wooden toy trucks, real wood doll houses, real stone houses, real brick houses, real communities that aren’t manufactured by some cult-driven HOA system, real people with real problems and real personalities that connect with other real people on really real levels not just through myspace and twitter and livejournal?
We traded thoughtfully crafted wooden toys for cheap plastic ones and we also got a host of other problems at the same time; almost every plastic toy is made in a factory overseas that is made with PVC, which I pointed out is full of dioxins which is one of the most toxic chemicals known to man. These chemicals get released into the earth when the toys later sit in landfills or get released directly into our air supply when they are burned. We’ve traded a life of natural simplicity for over-complicated GARBAGE and it makes me irate.
So yes, I cut down a real tree every year for christmas with my family. I find that cutting down a tree with nothing but a saw and my two hands, and being out in the cold Maine winter with my family is a wonderfully natural experience. And as someone with pagan beliefs I always thank the earth for the gift that it yielded and I thank the tree for infusing its energy in our home.
