People who purchase Real Christmas Trees are always looking for tips and ideas as to how they can best look after their tree after they take it home. There's nothing worse than needle drop but it is so easy to avoid by taking a few simple measures.  Remember although a Christmas Tree is not quite like a bouquet of flowers it still needs to be treated like a a fresh plant.

Planning your Christmas tree purchase will avoid seasonal stress.

All across Europe Christmas trees are likely to be in short supply this year. 

A Christmas tree takes 7 years to grow and it is feared that insufficient trees were planted at the beginning of the millennium to cater for this year’s demand. 

The major shortages will occur in the large markets of the UK, France and Germany but there is a knock on effect as many trees which would otherwise be available for the domestic market are exported. 

Economic conditions for Irish Christmas tree growers in the early part of this decade did not encourage them to continue planting.  While a number of specialists growers for export have increased production, this is not sufficient to meet the ever increasing Irish demand for the real tree. 

However, those consumers who take their Christmas tree seriously have no need to worry.  The specialist retailer of trees such as garden centres and well established expert outlets have long standing relationships with professional growers and have secured their supply for the current season.  Those retail outlets will have a wide range of trees available from the 1^st December. Consumers this year will notice an increase in the availability of Nordman Fir, the market leader across Europe while the traditionally preferred Nobilis will be less prominent in outlets across the country.  Both have equally good needle retention.

What will be obvious, however, in the current Christmas market is a shortage of quality trees from street corners, garages and small shops, where it was possible in previous years to buy trees late in the season without any prior planning. 

Consumers are encouraged this year to choose their tree early (between 1 and 10 December).  The specialist outlets will provide an excellent choice during this period and buying your tree early does not affect its freshness.  The vast majority of trees supplied on the domestic market are harvested in the last week of November.  At this stage the tree has been asleep for at least three months and retains its freshness regardless of when purchased.  If the consumer treats the tree like fresh flowers from point of purchase onwards then the tree will look as good on New Year’s Day as when it first comes into the house. 

Growers advise that a tree purchased early should be taken out of its net and left outside for up to 5 days before one puts it in the house.  Ideally the base of the tree should be recut and a tree must be placed in a water holding stand away from direct heat. 

Those who choose their tree early and treat it well are likely to get the maximum satisfaction from their purchase.  Those who leave it until late are likely to be disappointed.    

CARE INSTRUCTIONS

Enjoy a real tree experience and a safe and happy Christmas!

Nollaig Shona

CHRISTMAS CUSTOMS  IN IRELAND

Candle in the window

It's said that a house with a candle lighting on its window is a sign of welcome for Mary and Joseph.
The candle is supposed to be lit by the youngest child and the flame put out by a girl called Mary. Is this why the name Mary was so popular in the old days? It was also a sign that Priests were welcome to have mass in that house as masses were forbidden during Penal Times.

Traditionally, a candle was only lit in one window, but nowadays at Christmas, most houses have electric candles in all windows.

Festive decorations

Holly grows wild in Ireland so it a very common decoration in Irish house over Christmas.

A berry filled holly wreath on the front door is a very popular decoration and is a tradition passed down through the years when long ago poor people would use it to decorate their homes.

The nativity crib, tinsel, baubles, bows and lights both inside and outside are also used to decorate homes.

Decorating the Christmas tree

This was a Pagan custom, which represented the various lunar objects important to them like the sun, moon and stars. The tradition of giving gifts also came from the Pagan era and is a huge part of Christmas today.

Christmas trees are decorated with tinsel and twinkling fairy lights, and while some people put an angel on top of the tree, others prefer a star.

Nowadays in Ireland, Christmas trees and decorations go up as early as the first week of December. In Ireland, it is thought to be bad luck to take Christmas decorations down before the 6th January.