The Tradition 



247 



matter, for example, that he used to 

 forbid their use in the White House. He 

 called it wasteful. One year, however, 

 his sons Archie and Quentin smuggled 

 one in and set it up in Archie's room. 

 The President's friend and advisor on 

 conservation measures, Gifford Pin- 

 chot, assured him that the supervised 

 and proper harvesting of Christmas 

 trees was good for the forests. From 

 then on the White House had a tree. 



Those who object to the cutting of 

 Christmas trees might well remember 

 that forestry looks not only to the per- 

 petuation but also to the wise use of 

 woodlands. By careful selection of 

 trees to be cut, it is possible to obtain 

 evergreen trees without harming the 

 forest often, indeed, with positive 

 benefit to it, just as it is possible to 

 thin out stands of young trees for fuel 

 and obtain faster growth and greater 

 returns in saw timber from the remain- 

 ing trees. Actually, if properly di- 

 rected, there is no reason why the joy 

 associated with the Christmas ever- 

 green may not be a means of arousing 

 in the minds of children an apprecia- 

 tion of the beauty and usefulness of 

 trees; and keen appreciation of the 

 beauty and usefulness of trees is a long 

 step toward the will to plant and care 

 for them. 



LIVING CHRISTMAS TREES, fittingly 

 decorated and lighted, can become the 

 center of outdoor community interest 

 and seasonal celebrations. Smaller 

 spruces, firs, or hemlocks planted in 

 tubs or similar containers make excel- 

 lent living Christmas trees for homes. 

 They especially appeal to children and, 

 because they remain alive, keep the fire 

 hazard to a minimum. Then the plant- 

 ing of the live Christmas tree near the 

 home on New Year's Day (if weather 

 and soil permit) serves as a fitting cere- 

 mony to end the holiday week. If kept 

 watered and reasonable care is taken 

 in transplanting, the tree is almost 

 sure to grow. In fact, the same tree may 

 be used for two or more successive 

 Christmases before it grows too large 

 to be easily handled. 



WHEN ITS PURPOSE is SERVED, the 

 tree should be disposed of properly. A 

 Twelfth Night ceremony, in which the 

 Christmas trees, wreaths, and boughs 

 are collected from the several homes 

 and burned in a blaze of glory, is ob- 

 served in some American cities a fit- 

 ting end for a tree of tradition and 

 sentiment and much better than dis- 

 carding it on a backyard trash heap. 



The basis for the custom may derive 

 from the time when the early Chris- 

 tians celebrated the feast of the Nativity 

 of Christ for 12 days, placing special 

 emphasis on the last or Twelfth Day. 



The community burning of the 

 trees, which appears to have originated 

 in Germany, was instituted to com- 

 memorate the light of the Star of Beth- 

 lehem, which guided the Three Wise 

 Men to where the infant Christ lay in 

 the manger. Through the centuries 

 various peoples have observed the cus- 

 tom in various ways; often rites to in- 

 sure better crops were involved. 



ARTHUR M. SOWDER, after gradua- 

 tion from the University of Idaho., 

 School of Forestry, was employed as a 

 logging engineer and logging-camp 

 foreman. Before joining the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture as an extension 

 forester, he taught forestry subjects, 

 including logging, at the University of 

 Idaho. 



