Why shouldn't you take a Christmas tree from your yard in Alaska?

In winter, the temperatures are below the freezing point meaning that the tree is frozen. Once inside it thaws and looses its needles within three days or so.

Their First Christmas Tree in Alaska Was Frozen

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Post author:Nicole Mölders
Reading time:4 mins read

This post entertains you with a true Alaska life story. Read why you should never harvest a tree that is frozen.

Contents

German Christmas in a Dry Cabin
When a Just Cut Tree Loses Its Needles
Why You Should Never Harvest a Frozen Tree

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German Christmas in a Dry Cabin

In 2001, a German young couple invited us into their dry cabin to celebrate the end of the semester. They also had left Germany in the same summer as we did, and it was also their first Christmas season in Alaska.

When we arrived at the dry cabin that they had rented from a young Danish woman who had just got married, we were quite impressed that they had a Christmas tree decorated the German way. “Aren’t you afraid that the candles will set this wood cabin on fire? The needles are already dry!” my husband said with real concern. He had been involved in fire research and performed various apartment fire experiments using identical Ikea furniture. “You not even have 5 minutes to get out before a fire will flash over” he warned them.

When a Just Cut Tree Loses Its Needles

“We already thought that we should not burn the candles at Christmas” our hostess responded. She continued, “We just took the tree off this property three days ago and it already looses the needles! Incredible! It is worse than the trees you got in Germany that were already harvested in November.”

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Why You Should Never Take a Frozen Tree

My husband and I looked at each other. He nodded and I said, “We had been told by a colleague that we should not take a tree from our landlord’s property.” I just wanted to continue my speech when she said, “Don’t worry, we did not steal it, we asked her, and she did not mind.” “No, no, it’s not about that. There are so many trees, they won’t even notice or miss one. It’s about the trees themselves. Once they have been frozen and they are frozen since early October, they will start needling immediately once you put them into the warmth. That’s why Kiwanis International sells imported trees in that heated hall at the Tanana Valley Fair Ground. They even tell you to cover the tree on the way to your house.”

Did you know that frozen Christmas trees will loose their needles in no time? Do you have a Christmas tree? Is it a real or fake one? Do you like the fake ones? Let me know by email, I am curious.

What is your Christmas story? What do you do on Christmas? Do you celebrate with friends or the family? Have a great Christmas season.

Interested in another Alaska Christmas story? What about the Christmas without water?

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Photos: G. Kramm