The Christmas tree’s biggest fans are getting aggressive this year
By Matthew Halverson
Could there be a more classic, iconic, heartwarming symbol of the holidays than the Christmas tree? Its fragrant green branches draped with strings of popcorn and homemade decorations, its top capped with a star passed down from one generation to the next, its trunk ringed with mounds of presents … It is Christmas—unless, of course, it’s fake. “Artificial trees are nothing but big, green toilet brushes,” says Rick Dungey, spokesperson for the Chesterfield-based National Christmas Tree Association.
Hard to believe that anyone could have that much hate in his heart during the season of giving, but when it comes to anything but the real thing, Dungey and the rest of the folks at the 50-year-old very special interest group are more than happy to dole out lumps of coal. “They’re a burden to the environment because they all end up in landfills,” Dungey says of fake trees. “And they’ll never decompose.”
Apparently neither will the NCTA’s love for Scotch pines, Fraser firs or any other natural pine pillar of Christmas spirit. And to recruit new followers to their flocked flock, they’re going viral: Since October, they’ve been asking Web-savvy merrymakers to post their own homemade video love letters to real trees on YouTube. The best—chosen later this month—will earn its maker $500.
Hey, at least they’re resisting the temptation to fight dirty, though, right? “You never know what we’ll get,” Dungey says. “Somebody might make a video that does nothing but make fun of fake trees.”
Or maybe not.
