Michigan’s Evergreen Season Begins with the Scent of Fresh-Cut Pine

Photo by Tammi Mild

The scent of cider and donuts will soon be replaced by our next seasonal olfactory delight — fresh-cut pine.

Michigan ranks third in the nation in Christmas tree harvests, supplying roughly two million fresh trees to the national market each year. Only Oregon and North Carolina produce more. Michigan also grows and sells more than nine tree varieties on a wholesale level, more than any other state, across 37,000 acres of commercial production. Together, those evergreens bring in over $40 million annually in sales of trees, wreaths, garland, and other greens. And in a true spirit of sustainability, for every tree harvested, three new ones are planted for future seasons.

But the story of the Christmas tree stretches much farther back than our Great Lake State farms. The custom of bringing greenery indoors during the dark months has ancient roots. Egyptians and Romans displayed evergreen boughs as symbols of life triumphing over winter’s chill. In the 700s, legend credits Saint Boniface with using a fir tree to teach about the Christian Trinity.

Centuries later, 16th-century Germans began decorating evergreens inside their homes. One story says Martin Luther himself was inspired by the starlit sky to add candles to his tree, recreating the twinkle of heaven. Some families even hung their trees upside-down from the ceiling, a tradition that, thankfully, didn’t catch on.

The Christmas tree’s journey into English-speaking homes came thanks to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, whose 1840s family portrait around a decorated fir made the practice instantly fashionable across Britain and America. By the early 1900s, Christmas tree farms were springing up in the U.S., including one in New Jersey that planted 25,000 Norway spruces purely for Christmas.

Over the years, the tradition has collected its own folklore and flair. In Eastern Europe, the “Legend of the Christmas Spider” explains why trees are decorated with tinsel. The story tells of spider webs that turned to silver and gold when touched by morning light. In the country of Georgia, families display a “Chichilaki,” a tree made of shaved hazelnut branches, burned after Christmas to symbolize renewal.

So, when you catch that first whiff of pine in the living room, think of it as more than holiday décor. It’s the scent of our Winter Wonderland’s agriculture at work.

Sources

MichiganGrown.Org

History.Com

Britannica.Com

Wikipedia.Com