Christmas tree

This is comparable to the Old English poem The Dream of the Rood. The heart may also be illustrated as an icon (♥), symbolizing love. Some churches use the same stripped Christmas tree as a Christian cross at Easter. It can vary from one to four chambers (2 atria and 2 ventricle). Such individuals and Christian denominations are unlikely to celebrate Christmas at all, for the same reason, such as the United Church of God. Different species have different heart chambers. Some Christians, again a minority, feel that since "Christmas Trees" are not biblically ordained, they should not be used. It resembles venison in structure and taste.

The only consistancies with Christmas tree customs seem to be that both are made of wood and both are decorated. They are counted among offal, but being a muscle, the taste of heart is much more like regular meat than that of other offal. They would also carry it from place to place as an object to be feared and worshipped. The hearts of cattle, sheep, pigs and certain fowl are consumed as food in many countries. A full study of the passage shows that the people would cut down a tree and work it with a chisel to engrave an image in it. The earthworm has a series of multiple primitive hearts. In other English translations of the Bible the verses more explicitly refer to the practice of making idols to be worshipped:. The Gray Whale's heart beats 9 times per minute, Harbour Seal 10 when diving, 140 when on land, elephant 25, human 70, sparrow 500, shrew 600, and hummingbird 1,200 when hovering.

Interpreting those verses as a ban on Christmas trees may be more common among individuals and Christian denominations that are part of the King-James-Only Movement. See "Early development" above for information about the early human heart rates. Some Christians, albeit a minority, feel that the practice of having "Christmas Trees" is prohibited by the Book of Jeremiah 10:1-5 which says,. This is evident within a species as well, as the young beat their hearts faster than the adults. A recent campaign spearheaded by conservative Fox News Channel contributors Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity has resulted in a backlash from some Christian groups and individuals who feel the designation "holiday tree" is part of an alleged war on Christmas. Smaller animals have faster heartbeats. The term holiday tree has, since at least 1990 (and perhaps before), been used by some in the United States, Canada and the UK to reflect the winter holiday season instead of any specific religious holiday. Birds and mammals show complete separation of the heart into two pumps, for a total of four heart chambers; it is thought that the four-chambered heart of birds evolved independently of that of mammals.

The term comes from the appearance of Charlie Brown's Christmas tree in the TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas. The blood from the single ventricle is then pumped to both the lungs and the body tissues, an type of double circulation. Some tree buyers intentionally adopt such trees, feeling sympathetic to their plights. Blood from both the body and the lungs is pumped into the single ventricle, where unoxygenated and oxygenated blood may mix. The term Charlie Brown Christmas tree can be used to described any sad-looking, malformed little tree. Amphibians and reptiles have a three-chambered heart: two atria and one ventricle. President Jimmy Carter only lit the crowning star atop the Tree in 1979 in honor of the Americans being held hostage in Iran; in 1980, the tree was only fully lit for 417 seconds, one second for each day the hostages had been in captivity. The blood pumps through the gills and on to the the body tissues without returning to the heart.

Today, the lighting of the National Tree is part of what has become a major holiday event at the White House. In fish, the system has only one circuit. The United States' National Christmas Tree is lit each year south of the White House in Washington, D.C. The heart of fish have only two chambers: one atrium and one ventricle. In some cases the trees represent special commemorative gifts, such as in Trafalgar Square in London where the City of Oslo presents a tree to the people of London as a token of appreciation for the British support of Norwegian resistance during the Second World War and in Newcastle upon Tyne, where the 15 m tall main civic Christmas tree is an annual gift from the city of Bergen, Norway in thanks for the part played by soldiers from Newcastle in liberating Bergen from Nazi occupation. If an automated external defibrillator is available, this device may automatically administer defibrillation if this is indicated. In some cities festivals are organised around the decoration and display of multiple trees as charity events. If a person is encountered in cardiac arrest (no heartbeat), cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) should be started, and help called.

Many cities, towns, and department stores put up public Christmas trees outdoors for everyone to enjoy, such as the Rich's Great Tree in Atlanta, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in New York City and the large Christmas tree at Victoria Square in Adelaide. See cardiac arrest for emergencies involving the heart. The "First Christmas Tree in America" is also claimed by Easton, Pennsylvania, where German settlers purportedly erected a Christmas tree in 1816. See also: Cardiology diagnostic tests and procedures. Windsor Locks, Connecticut claims that a Hessian soldier put up a Christmas tree in 1777 while imprisoned at the Noden-Reed House, thus making it the home of the first Christmas tree in New England. The transplant team was headed by Christiaan Barnard. There are several cities in the United States which lay claim to that country's first Christmas tree. At Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, 53-year-old Louis Washkansky on December 3, 1967 became the first human to receive a heart transplant (however he died 18 days later from double pneumonia).

Such patriotic prints of the British royal family at Christmas celebrations helped popularise the Christmas tree in Britain and among the anglophile American upper class. Nitroglycerin and other compounds that give off nitric oxide are used to treat heart disease as they cause the dilation of coronary vessels. Images of the royal family with their Christmas tree at Osborne House were illustrated in English magazines, initially as a woodcut in the Illustrated London News of December 1848, and copied in the United States at Christmas 1850 (illustration, left). Beta blockers are drugs that lower the heart rate and blood pressure and reduce the heart's oxygen requirements. The generous Prince Albert also presented large numbers of trees to schools and army barracks at Christmas. If a coronary artery is blocked or narrowed, the problem spot can be bypassed with coronary artery bypass surgery or it can be widened with angioplasty. In 1847, Prince Albert wrote: "I must now seek in the children an echo of what Ernest [his brother] and I were in the old time, of what we felt and thought; and their delight in the Christmas-trees is not less than ours used to be". Important diseases of the heart include:.

After her marriage to her German cousin, Prince Albert, the custom became even more widespread. The study of diseases of the heart is known as cardiology. All the presents being placed round the trees...". The heart also secretes ANF (atrial natriuretic factor), a powerful peptide hormone, that affects the blood vessels, the adrenal glands, the kidneys and the regulatory regions of the brain to regulate blood pressure and volume. Queen Victoria as a child was familiar with the custom, in her journal for Christmas Eve 1832, the delighted 13-year-old Princess wrote: "After dinner...we then went into the drawing-room near the dining-room...There were two large round tables on which were placed two trees hung with lights and sugar ornaments. In the event of severe pathology, the Purkinje fibers can also act as a pacemaker; this is usually not the case because their rate of spontaneous firing is considerably lower than that of the other pacemakers and hence is overridden. In Britain, the Christmas tree was introduced by King George III's German Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, but did not spread much beyond the royal family. The time taken for the wave to reach this node from the sinoatrial nerve creates a delay between contraction of the two chambers and ensures that each contraction is coordinated simultaneously throughout all of the heart.

In France, the first Christmas tree was introduced in 1840 by the duchess of Orleans. Once the wave reaches the atrioventricular node, situated in the lower right atrium, it is conducted through the bundles of His and causes contraction of the ventricles. Princess Henrietta von Nassau-Weilburg introduced the Christmas tree to Vienna in 1816, and the custom spread across Austria in the following years. The sinoatrial node, often known as the cardiac pacemaker, is located in the upper wall of the right atrium and is responsible for the wave of electrical stimulation (See action potential) that initiates atria contraction. In the early 19th century, the custom became popular among the nobility and spread to royal courts as far as Russia. The rhythmic sequence of contractions is coordinated by the sinoatrial and atrioventricular nodes. It was regarded as a Protestant custom by the Catholic majority along the lower Rhine, and was spread there only by Prussian officials who were moved there in the wake of the Congress of Vienna in 1815. The heart's rhythmic contractions occur spontaneously, although the frequency or heart rate can be changed by nervous or hormonal influences such as exercise or the perception of danger.

The Christmas tree remained confined to the upper Rhineland for a relatively long time. This is in contrast with skeletal muscle, which requires either conscious or reflex nervous stimuli. Wax candles are attested from the late 18th century. Cardiac muscle is self-exciting. By the early 18th century, the custom had become common in towns of the upper Rhineland, but it had not yet spread to rural areas. Finally complete cardiac diastole involves relaxation of the atria and ventricles in preparation for refilling with circulating blood. One Strasbourg priest, Johann Konrad Dannerhauer, complains about the custom as distracting from the word of God. The ventricular systole consists of the contraction of the ventricles and flow of blood into the circulatory system. Again, once all the blood empties from the ventricles, the pulmonary and aortic semilunar valves close.

During the 17th century, the custom entered family homes. It is the closing of the valves that produces the familiar beating sounds of the heart, commonly referred to as the "lub-dub" sound due to the closing of the semilunar and atrioventricular valves. The city of Riga, Latvia claims to be home of the first holiday tree, an octagonal plaque in the town square reads "The First New Years Tree in Riga in 1510", in eight different languages. This prevents any backflow into the atria. Another early reference is from Basel, where the taylor apprentices carried around town a tree decorated with apples and cheese in 1597. Once the blood has fully left the atria, the atrioventricular valves, which are situated between the atria and ventricular chambers, close. It can be traced to 16th century Germany; Ingeborg Weber-Keller (Marburg professor of European ethnology) identified as the earliest reference a Bremen guild chronicle of 1570 which reports how a small fir was decorated with apples, nuts, dates, pretzels and paper flowers, and erected in the guild-house, for the benefit of the guild members' children, who collected the dainties on Christmas day. Every single beat of the heart involves a sequence of events known as the cardiac cycle, which consists of three major stages: atrial systole, ventricular systole and complete cardiac diastole. The atrial systole consists of the contraction of the atria and the corresponding influx of blood into the ventricles.

The modern custom, however, although likely related, cannot be proven to be directly descended from pagan tradition. The function of the heart is to pump blood around the body. According to one legend, Saint Boniface attempted to introduce the idea of trinity to the pagan tribes using the cone-shaped evergreen trees because of their triangular appearance. See main page cardiac cycle. According to Adam of Bremen, in Scandinavia the pagan kings sacrificed nine males of each species at the sacred groves every ninth year. The blood supply to the heart itself is supplied by the left and right coronary arteries, which branch off from the aorta. Among early Germanic tribes the Yule tradition was celebrated by sacrificing male animals and slaves by suspending them on the branches of trees. The endocardium is a further layer of flattened epithelial cells and connective tissue which lines the chambers of the heart.

Patron trees (for example, the Irminsul, Thor's Oak and the figurative Yggdrasil) held special significance for the ancient Germanic tribes, appearing throughout historic accounts as sacred symbols and objects. Beneath this is a much thicker myocardium made up of cardiac muscle. A branch of flowering Glastonbury thorn is still sent annually for the Queen's Christmas table in the United Kingdom. The first is the outer epicardium which is composed of a layer of flattened epithelial cells and connective tissue. Medieval legends, nevertheless, tended to concentrate more on the miraculous "flowering" of trees at Christmas time. The heart wall is made of three distinct layers. In Roman mosaics from what is today Tunisia, showing the mythic triumphant return from India of the Greek god of wine and male fertility, Dionysus (dubbed by some modern scholars as a life-death-rebirth deity), the god carries a tapering coniferous tree. The contractile nature of the heart is due to the presence of cardiac muscle in its wall which can work continuously without fatigue.

The Christmas tree is often explained as a Christianization of the ancient pagan idea that the evergreen tree represents a celebration of the renewal of life. Even though the ventricles lie below the atria, the two vessels through which the blood exits the heart (the pulmonary artery and the aorta) leave the heart at its top side. After the holidays, dead trees can be put to other uses:. As the right ventricle needs to pump blood only to the lungs, it requires less muscle. These tips will ensure the tree will stay fresh for several weeks. The left ventricle is much more muscular (1.3 - 1.5 cm thick) than the right (0.3 - 0.5 cm thick) as it has to pump blood around the entire body, which involves exerting a considerable force to overcome the vascular pressure. This tradition seems to be limited mostly to the United States. Even the lungs take some of the blood supply from the aorta via bronchial arteries.

Flocking can be done with a professional sprayer at a tree lot (or the manufacturer if it is artificial), or at home from a spray can, and either can be rather messy. The left ventricle then pumps the blood through the aorta to the entire body. Typically it would be sprayed all over the tree from the sides, which produced a look different from real snow, which settles in clumps atop branches. From the left atrium this newly oxygenated blood passes through the mitral valve to enter the left ventricle. In the 1980s some trees were sprayed with fluffy white flocking to simulate snow. The oxygenated blood then flows through pulmonary veins to the left atrium. A plain mat of fabric or plastic may also be placed under the stand and skirt to protect the floor from scratches or water. In the lungs gaseous exchange takes places and the blood releases carbon dioxide into the lung cavity and picks up oxygen.

Generally, the difference between a mat and skirt is simply that a mat is placed under the tree stand, while a skirt is placed over it, having a hole in the middle for the trunk, with a slot cut to the outside edge so that it can be placed around the tree (beneath the branches) easily. The right ventricle pumps the deoxygenated blood to the lungs, through the pulmonary artery. As Christmas presents arrive, they are generally placed underneath the tree on the tree skirt (depending on tradition, all Christmas gifts, or those too large to be hung on the tree, as in "presents on the tree" of the song "White Christmas"). The blood then passes through the tricuspid valve to the right ventricle. A nativity scene, model train, or Christmas village may be placed on the mat or skirt. Oxygen-depleted or deoxygenated blood from the body enters the right atrium through two great veins, the superior vena cava which drains the upper part of the body and the inferior vena cava that drains the lower part. What began as ordinary cloth has now often become much more ornate, some having embroidery or being put together like a quilt. On both sides, the lower ventricles are thicker than the upper atria.

Even when dripless candles, electric lights and artificial trees have been used, a skirt is still usually used as a decorative feature: among other things, it hides the tree stand, which may be unsightly but which is an important safety feature of home trees. The left side (see left heart) collects oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumps it out to the body. Since candles were used to light trees until electric bulbs came about, a mat (UK) or "skirt" (US) was often placed on the floor below the tree to protect it by catching the dripping candle wax, and also to collect any needles that fall. this happens through a process called diffusion. Many people also decorate outdoor trees with food that birds and other wildlife will enjoy, such as garlands made from unsalted popcorn or cranberries, orange halves, and seed-covered suet cakes. The function of the right side of the heart (see right heart) is to collect deoxygenated blood from the body and pump it into the lungs so that carbon dioxide can be dropped off and oxygen picked up. Conversely, trees decorated by professional designers for department stores and other institutions will usually have a "theme"; a set of predominant colours, multiple instances of each type of ornament, and larger decorations that may be more complicated to set up correctly. Finally complete cardiac diastole involves relaxation of the atria and ventricles in preparation for refilling with circulating blood.

Individuals' decorations vary wildly, typically being an eclectic mix of family traditions and personal tastes; even a small unattractive ornament, if passed down from a parent or grandparent, may come to carry considerable emotional value and be given pride of place on the tree. Again, once all the blood empties from the ventricles, the pulmonary and aortic semilunar valves close. Baubles are another extremely common decoration, and usually consist of a fairly small hollow glass or plastic sphere coated with a thin metallic layer to make them reflective, and then with a further coating of a thin pigmented polymer in order to provide colouration. Valves between the atria and ventricles (atrioventricular valves) maintain coordinated unidirectional flow of blood from the atria to the ventricles.The ventricular systole consists of the contraction of the ventricles and flow of blood into the circulatory system. Strands of tinsel may be hung in groups from longer branches to simulate icicles, though this trend has gradually fallen off since the late 1970s. A septum divides the right atrium and ventricle from the left atrium and ventricle, preventing blood from passing between them. Lighting with candles or electric lights (fairy lights) is commonly done, and a tree topper completes the ensemble. It consists of four chambers, the two upper atria (singular: atrium) and the two lower ventricles.

Delicate mould-blown and painted coloured glass Christmas ornaments were a specialty of Czech glass factories from the late 19th century, and have since become a large industry, complete with famous-name designers. In normal adults, its mass is 250-350 g, but extremely diseased hearts can be up to 1000 g in mass. Tinsel and several types of garland or ribbon are commonly used to decorate a Christmas tree. A stethoscope can be placed directly over the apex and count the beats. Organically grown Christmas trees are available in some markets, and as with many other crops, are widely held to be better for the environment. The apex is the blunt point at the base of the heart. In some cases management of Christmas tree crops can result in poor habitat since it involves heavy input of pesticides and herbicides. It is enclosed by a sac known as the pericardium and is surrounded by the lungs.

Live trees are typically grown as a crop and replanted in rotation after cutting, often providing suitable habitat for wildlife. In the human body, the heart is normally situated slightly to the left of the middle of the thorax, underneath the sternum (breastbone). Real trees also help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere while growing. [2]. Real trees are used only for a short time, but can be recycled and used as mulch or used to prevent erosion [2]. There is no difference in male and female heart rates before birth. Artificial trees can be used for many years, but are usually non-recyclable, ending up in landfills. After the 15th week the deceleration slows reaching an average rate of about 145 (+/-25 bpm) bpm at term.

Polyethylene trees are less toxic, though more expensive, than PVC trees [1]. After peaking at about 9.2 weeks after the LMP, it decelerates to about 150 bpm (+/-25 bpm) during the 15 week after the LMP. For instance, the bark of a real tree can be used to surface an artificial trunk. [1]. A small amount of real-tree material is used in some artificial trees. This acceleration is approximately 3.3 bpm per day, or about 10 bpm every three days, an increase of 100 bpm in the first month. Some trees have a warning that dust or leaves from the tree should not be eaten or inhaled. It then accelerates linearly for the first month of beating, peaking at 165-185 bpm during the early 7th week, (early 9th week after the LMP).

Artificial trees are usually made out of PVC, a toxic material which is often stabilised with lead. The human heart begins beating at a rate near the mother’s, about 75-80 beats per minute (bpm). There is some debate as to whether artificial or real trees are better for the environment. The human embryonic heart (EHR) begins beating at approximately 21 days after conception, or five weeks after the last normal menstrual period (LMP), which is the date normally used to date pregnancy. Real potted ones are often sold like this, and artificial ones often come with a "root ball" but only sometimes with decorations. . A long-standing and simple gimmick is conifer seedlings sold with cheap decorations attached by soft pipe cleaners. The term cardiac means "related to the heart", from the Greek kardia (καρδια) for "heart".

Past gimmicks include small talking or singing trees, and trees which blow "snow" (actually small styrofoam beads) over themselves, collecting them in a decorative cardboard bin at the bottom and blowing them back up to the top through a tube hidden next to the trunk. The heart (Latin cor) is a hollow, muscular organ that pumps blood through the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions. Retailers also claimed that the trees were popular because they allowed larger presents to be placed beneath the trees. Congenital heart defects. Customers then wanted to replicate the inverted tree. It is sometimes treated by implanting an artificial pacemaker. They were originally sold as decorations for merchants that allowed customers to get closer to ornaments being sold. Cardiac arrhythmia is an irregularity in the heartbeat.

In 2005 inverted trees became popular. Endocarditis and myocarditis are inflammations of the heart. Some are instead lit partly or completely by fibre optics, with the light in the base, and a rotating colour wheel causing various colours to shimmer across the tree. Congestive heart failure is the gradual loss of pumping power of the heart. Since the late 1990s, many indoor artificial trees come pre-strung with lights. A heart attack occurs when heart muscle cells die because blood circulation to a part of the heart is interrupted. Some skyscrapers will tell certain offices to leave their lights on (and others off) at night during December, creating a Christmas tree pattern. Coronary heart disease is the lack of oxygen supply to the heart muscle; it can cause severe pain and discomfort known as Angina.

A few hotels and other buildings, both public and private, will string lights up from the roof to the top of a small tower on top of the building, so that at night it appears as a lit Christmas tree, often using green or other coloured lights. These lights are usually white, but often are green, red, red/green, blue/white, blue, or multicoloured, and sometimes with a small controller to fade colours back and forth. lawns in the 2000s, along with 1990s spiral ones that hang from a central pole, both styles being lighted with standard miniature lights. Outdoor branched trees made out of heavy white-enameled steel wires have become more popular on U.S.

Other artificial trees which look nothing like a conifer except for the triangular or conical shape, are also used as tabletop decorations, such as a stack of ornaments. More recent tinsel trees can be used fairly safely with lights. They were instead lit by a spotlight or floodlight, often with a motorised rotating color wheel in front of it. They were aluminium-coated paper, meaning that they also posed a great fire hazard if lights were put directly on them (warnings to this effect are still issued with most christmas tree lights).

The first trees which were not green were the metallic trees of the 1950s and 1960s. Around 2003, some trees with molded-plastic branches started selling in the U.S.. Better trees also have more branch tips, the number usually listed on the box. Most of the better trees have branches hinged to the pole, though the less-expensive ones generally still come separately.

Many trees now come in "slim" versions, to fit in smaller spaces. These trees have become a little more realistic every year, with a few deluxe trees containing multiple branch styles. Many also have very short brown "needles" wound in with the longer green ones, to imitate the branch itself or the bases that each group of pine (but not other conifer) needles grows from. Those first trees looked like long-needled pine trees, but later trees use flat PVC sheets to make the needles.

Each row of branches is a different size, colour coded at the base with paint or stickers for ease of assembly. The bases of the branches were then twisted together to form a large branch, which was then inserted by the user into a wooden pole (now metal with plastic rings) for a trunk. They were made the same way, using animal hair (mainly pig bristles) and later plastic bristles, dyed pine-green colour, inserted between twisted wires that form the branches. The first modern artificial Christmas trees were produced by companies which made brushes.

in 1913, in the Sears, Roebuck and Company catalog. The first feather trees came to the U.S. Originating in Germany in the 19th century to prevent further deforestation, these "minimalist" trees show off small ornaments very well. The first artificial trees were tabletop feather trees, made from green-dyed goose feathers wound onto sticks drilled into a larger one, like the branches on a tree.

They may also be necessary for people who have an allergy to conifers, and are increasingly popular in office settings. Artificial trees are sometimes even a necessity in some rented homes (especially apartment flats), due to the potential fire danger from a dried-out real tree, leading to their prohibition by some landlords. In the U.S., about 70% of trees are now artificial. At the end of the Christmas season artificial trees can be diassembled and stored compactly, but some artificial-tree owners simply store the whole decorated tree covered in a large bag, ready for the next year.

Trees come in a number of colours and "species", and some come pre-decorated with coloured lights. Artificial trees are very popular, particularly in the U.S., where despite their lack of realism (both in looks and scent), they are considered more convenient and (if used for several years) less expensive than real trees. In the UK, The British Christmas Tree Growers Association represents the interests of all those who grow Christmas trees in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In the past, Christmas trees were often harvested from wild forests, but now almost all are commercially grown on tree farms.

The shearing also damages the highly attractive natural symmetry of unsheared trees. European tradition prefers the open aspect of naturally-grown, unsheared trees, while in North America (outside much of the Rockies) there is a preference for close-sheared trees with denser foliage, but less space to hang decorations. Others are produced in a container and sometimes as topiary for a porch or patio. These trees must be kept inside only for a few days, as the warmth will bring them out of dormancy, leaving them little protection when put back outside into the midwinter cold in most areas.

However, the combination of root loss on digging, and the indoor environment of high temperature and low humidity is very detrimental to the tree's health, and the survival rate of these trees is low. Some trees are sold live with roots and soil, often from a nursery, to be planted later outdoors and enjoyed (and often decorated) for years or decades. Norfolk Island pine is sometimes used, particularly in the Oceania region, and in Australia some species of the genera Casuarina and Allocasuarina are also occasionally used as Christmas trees. The long-needled Eastern White Pine is also used there.

Virginia Pine is still available on some tree farms in the southeastern United States, however it has poor winter colour and sharp needles. Less-traditional conifers are sometimes used, such as Giant Sequoia, Leyland Cypress and Eastern Juniper. Several other species are used to a lesser extent. and in North America:.

Commonly used species in northern Europe (including the UK) are:. The best species for use are species of fir (Abies), which have the major benefit of not shedding the needles when they dry out, as well as good foliage colour and scent; but species in other genera are also used. Both natural and artificial trees are used as Christmas trees. In Germany, the Catholic people takes their Christmas trees down by the 2nd of February.

In Europe, private Christmas trees are not usually put up until at least the middle of December and are usually taken down by the 6th of January. In more northern climates and into Canada, the tree (if not too dry) and other decorations are left up well into January. homes is to put the tree up right after Thanksgiving (the fourth Thursday in November) and to take it down right after the New Year. The most common tradition in U.S.

Modern commercialisation of Christmas has however resulted in trees being put up much earlier; in shops often as early as late October. Traditionally, Christmas trees were not brought in and decorated until Christmas Eve (24 December), and then removed the day after twelfth night (i.e., 6 January); to have a tree up before or after these dates was even considered bad luck. . It is normally an evergreen coniferous tree that is brought into a home or used in the open, and is decorated with Christmas lights and colourful ornaments during the days around Christmas.

A Christmas tree is one of the most popular traditions associated with the celebration of Christmas. In coastal areas, trees can be used to protect sand dunes from erosion. Trees can be cut into small pieces and use for mulch or composted; some cities offer this service to their residents. Use the tree as a bean or pea support pole.

Use needles in a sachet. Use your tree as a bird feeder, hanging suet balls or other food from the branches. Place your tree away from heat sources, including radiators and windows that get a lot of direct sunlight. Only use plain water; research shows that additives such as sugar, cola and aspirin do more harm than good.

Check it daily. Make sure your tree has a sturdy Christmas tree stand that holds 4-6 litres of water. This allows the tree to continue taking up water, by removing the resin-soaked wood at the original cut. Just before placing it in the stand, cut 2-3 centimeters off the trunk.

Before taking your tree inside, gently bang the tree on its stump several times to dislodge any loose needles. If possible, the night before decorating, bring the tree into a partially heated area to allow it to adjust gradually to temperature changes. If decoration is not planned immediately, store the tree in a cool environment protected from the sun and wind. When transporting the tree, protect it from wind and road salts by covering it with plastic.

Stone Pine Pinus pinea (as small table-top trees). Scots Pine Pinus sylvestris. Douglas-fir Pseudotsuga menziesii. Red Fir Abies magnifica.

Noble Fir Abies procera. Fraser Fir Abies fraseri. Balsam Fir Abies balsamea. Scots Pine Pinus sylvestris.

Serbian Spruce Picea omorika. Norway Spruce Picea abies (generally the cheapest). Noble Fir Abies procera. Nordmann Fir Abies nordmanniana (as in the photo).

Silver Fir Abies alba (the original species).