A nun takes a photo of the Christmas tree in St. Peter's Square ahead of the festive season at the Vatican, on Nov. 22.CIRO DE LUCA/Reuters
Jennifer Cole is a freelance journalist based in Vancouver.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year – except if you are an 80-year-old evergreen tree. Every year cities and towns worldwide go to great lengths to choose a majestic tree to become the centrepiece of their festivities. This year, however, the tradition is being questioned.
In Italy, 50,000 people signed a petition calling on Pope Francis to stop the “execution” of a live 100-foot evergreen tree from Trentino province destined for the Vatican. They said killing the tree, which is now at St. Peter’s Square, was unnecessary and would deprive the local environment of its ecological benefits. However, local officials have said that if the tree hadn’t gone to the Vatican, it would have been cut to comply with EU forestry management practices.
Old stately trees, as the Italian protesters rightly point out, are vital parts of the ecosystem. They are self-sustaining habitats for birds and small animals. The cones and needles of evergreen trees are a source of winter sustenance for wildlife. Living trees absorb carbon – the amount varies depending on the type of tree and its size. The Tree Council of Ireland suggests that a 10-year-old evergreen absorbs 14 kilograms of carbon dioxide a year. Yet, despite these arguments, the practice of felling mature trees for the sake of holiday magic continues.
On Nov. 7, a 74-foot Norway spruce was cut down, placed on a flatbed truck and made the journey from West Stockbridge, Mass., to New York’s Rockefeller Center.
IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR TISHMAN SPEYER - The wrapped 2024 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, a 74-foot tall, 11-ton Norway Spruce from West Stockbridge, MA, is suspended in air in front of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Saturday, Nov. 09, 2024, in New York. The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 4. (Diane Bondareff/AP Content Services for Tishman Speyer)Diane Bondareff/The Associated Press
On Nov. 12, a similar tree arrived in Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square – a majestic white spruce from Bancroft, Ont. It was decorated with more than 500 ornaments, with a big reveal happening this past weekend.
Some cities have been rethinking the tradition. In France, the city of Bordeaux discontinued the practice in 2020, much to the chagrin of citizens. A poll showed that 79 per cent of people in France disapproved, yet the mayor’s deputy defended the decision, citing costs for a tree that would end up in the trash. Cost also played a role in Edmonton, when in 2022 the Edmonton Downtown Business Association said paying for a large real tree didn’t make sense anymore.
In Vancouver, the giant tree in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery is a 76-foot artificial cone. No one complains. A study released by the American Christmas Tree Association suggests that artificial trees have a more favourable effect on the environment if used for at least five years.
In fairness, there is some environmental benefit from the sacrificial trees. Toronto’s trees have traditionally been mulched and blended into the soil for future trees to grow from. The tree at Rockefeller Center is handed over to Habitat for Humanity and its wood is used to build homes for families. And yes, new trees will be planted. In Canada, the federal government has recognized the critical role of trees and in 2021, it launched an ambitious initiative to plant two billion trees by 2031, although the plan is behind target. Sadly, though, it will take many decades for those seedlings to come close to the majesty of the ones cut down for this year’s holiday festivities.
When all is said and done, the loss of one tree is enormously sad, but it’s what that loss represents that makes it devastating. The Earth is facing a dual crisis of rapid climate change and unprecedented biodiversity loss. The Copernicus Climate Change Service reports that in 2024, the planet is virtually certain to exceed the 1.5 C limit above preindustrial warming agreed to in the Paris Agreement. A recent UN report on biodiversity estimates as many as one million plant and animal species are threatened with extinction. This includes trees.
The controversy over axing these guardians of nature, as Italian protesters prove, stirs strong emotions. Cutting down one tree is not the end of the world. But it does raise questions about the precedent set when a beautiful, old tree is sacrificed – stripped of its environmental service – all for a fleeting moment of holiday magic. Sure, it looks nice, but it’s hard to argue that it’s necessary. More likely, it’s just another example of the avarice that has got humanity into a tangled mess in the first place, leaving the stewardship of Planet Earth as an afterthought.