A little over a year ago I started working on this blog post about xmas trees in Berlin. It took me longer than expected to catch up with it and by the time I was satisfied with the result, holidays and trees were long gone. It’s xmas tree season again, and this time I’m still on time for my j’acusse.
In a city where bio supermarkets and farmers markets are no longer a hip but well established institutions; in a city where there’s a name for parties that donate what’s made to good causes (soliparties) and in a city with the higher number of vegetarians and friends of the animals and the environment I have ever seen – what the hell is going on with xmas trees? Is noone taking care of them? Or are they just too many to be taken care of?
Trees are decorative with some lights and colorful bubbles on them – but this is not what they were made for. Trees are alive. Trees help us breath. Trees give us shadow. Birds, butterflies and other beautiful creatures live in trees. Shouldn’t we be taking a little care of them? The solution is simple – one just needs to look for a tree that can go back to where it belongs: the forest. Buy a xmas trees with roots, that’s planted in a pot with sole, and you’ll be able to give it to an association that will take care of it and replant it after xmas. Buy a xmas tree that has been cut off from the ground, and it will die in your living room and you’ll end up abandoning it in the street between the 2nd and the 15th January.
Do you know of any associations that are taking care of xmas trees after the season? Is there anyone campaigning for some kind of political pressure towards measures that will fine those who sell cut trees, or incentivate those selling replantable trees? I’m not a Berliner and neither do I buy a xmas tree, so I know very little about it. But if there’s anyone doing something in this direction, I want to give my support. Thanks for letting me know in the comments.
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