Sunday, December 25, 2011

Not a Christmas tree

posted at in categories:
I noticed, in the run-up to this Christmas, that our insatiable collective appetite for all things green and conical has led to some confusion as to exactly what constitutes a Christmas tree.
While small, this is a legitimate Christmas tree -- namely, some sort of pine. See also "Charlie Brown Christmas tree".

This is a cypress tree, not a Christmas tree. See also "arborvitae".

This is a rosemary bush pruned into the shape of a Christmas tree -- the plant version of a dog in a sweater. Embarrassing.

Storm damage, potentially comprised of pieces of former Christmas tree relatives.

1 comment:

  1. AllisonDecember 25, 2011 at 9:25 PM

    Actually, when I was researching the origins of the Christmas tree tradition for work, I discovered in the liturgy for the Hanging of the Greens church ceremony that we, in fact, name the cypress as the greenery we hang, because of its connection with Old Testament royalty. Therefore, the cypress is a legitimate Christmas tree, at least theologically if not culturally. However, I am not aware of any biblical or cultural excuses for the rosemary bush. Totally lame.

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