A Living Christmas
Canning’s CAPRE Light 4 Learning is selling Christmas cards by Doretta for $15, providing solar power to Uganda schools. Details: infor@ light- 4learning.org.
The Canning library is selling Kingsport Painting Society desk calendars $10 for building upgrades. The library is closed Dec. 21-Jan. 5. Winter hours run Tuesdays and Thursdays 2-5 p.m., Fridays 5-7 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Info: 902-582-7699.
Ross Creek Centre for the Arts has some last-minute gift ideas: prepaid programs and Two Planks theatre tickets. Info: 902582-3842.
Glooscap Elementary School Christmas break runs from Dec. 22-Jan. 2.
Scott’s Bay Union Church will
What is the first thought that comes to mind when you think of Christmas?
For many of us, it is the smell. Temporal lobes are one of largest portions of our brain and they are devoted to smell and taste.
This is a good reason to preserve the memories of the Christmas season with a fresh cut or live Christmas tree.
Canadians are split about 50/ 50 on artificial and real Christmas trees. We won’t try to convince you to go ‘ real’ if you are already committed to a fake tree.
It just seems to us a bit of a contradiction: we have been celebrating this occasion for about 2,000 years and many of us will continue to celebrate it for years to come. Whether you observe the religious connections or not, Christmas for most Canadians has a special place in our calendar year and in our hearts. So, how is a plastic ( or some other synthetic) tree appropriate for an evergreen celebration?
The rest of this article is for those who want to bring some authenticity to the event. Let’s begin with live trees.
Real Christmas trees
Potted or cut? Every year we receive many email messages from curious Canadians who think it would be grand if they bought a nice spruce or pine in hold a Christmas concert and carol sing Dec. 22, 7 p.m. Come and support the youth and young at heart. It will be followed by social time with cookies and hot drinks. If interested in participating or helping, contact Tina at 902-582-7626. Everyone is welcome to attend. There will be a special morning service on Dec. 24 at 11 a.m. with no Christmas Eve service.
Canning United Baptist Church invites you to a special Christmas Eve service celebration, “He Is Born!” Dec. 24 at 6:30 p.m. There will be choir selections, vocal and instrumental a pot, one with roots, and place it in the living room.
The idea has merit, but limitations. First, it has roots because it is living. It needs an extended period of cold to prepare itself to produce new growth in the spring. This period in the life of all winter- hardy trees is called vernalisation or dormancy, and your living evergreen needs it to stay alive.
When you bring a potted tree indoors and expose it to heat ( any temperature above freezing) for an extended period, you risk killing it. Room temperatures in a normal living area will trick your tree into thinking that spring has arrived. It will become ‘ soft’ and may start to grow. When you put it out of doors after Christmas, it will literally freeze to death as the poor thing will be thinking ‘spring’ when, in fact, the depth of winter is still ahead of it.
Bringing a potted, live tree into your home is only successful if you discipline yourself to enjoy the tree indoors for a maximum of five days. Consider placing it on your condo balcony or backyard deck to enjoy through a window or sliding door.
Make sure that you keep the roots and soil moist or you will be asking for more trouble.
When you do place it out of doors after enjoying it indoors, either plant it in soil, which can be tricky in most parts of frozen Canada, or cover the roots in a pot or burlap with two or three bales of straw to insulate it from the fluxuating temperatures during the winter. Keep it watered.
Cut Christmas tree
Most of us will bring a cut evergreen tree indoors for Christmas. This is a clever idea but note that not all of them hold moisture ( and their needles) to the same extent. Here is a list of tree species, starting with the most needle- retentive species down to the least: Fraser soloists, and carol singing in a festive atmosphere.
Scott’s Bay Community Hall Association will hold a New Year’s Eve party Dec. 31, 8 p.m.12 a.m. Admission is $10 and includes dance music, party favours, champagne toast, selection of meat, cheese, crackers, bread, chips, and sweet trays. Bar open until midnight. For more, call Jerry at 902-582-7489 or Hope at 902-582-3603.
The Canning legion’s New Year’s Eve dance will be held Dec. 31, 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Music will be by The Barkhouse Boys, Tony and Lennie. Tickets are available at fir, balsam fir, white pine, Scots pine and spruce.
While the earliest evergreens used as Christmas trees in Germany were likely spruce, they were not brought indoors for extended periods of time. They used real candles to ‘ light’ the tree too. In hindsight, this was not a good idea. You can only imagine how many of those Christmas celebrations ended poorly. Stick with the low voltage lights sold today and, above all, place your tree in a sturdy stand that holds at least four litres of water. Hydration is the key to needle retention and reducing fire hazards.
One more tip: Spray your fresh cut tree with Wilt- Pruf to prevent desiccation. Apologies for the spelling, this is an American product and, like donuts, we can’t always expect them to spell things the Canadian or ‘ correct’ way. The fact is, it is the best product on the market for this purpose. It is sold in a ready- to- use bottle. If you have any left over, apply it to your garden yews, boxwood, euonymus, holly and rhododendrons on a day when temperatures are above freezing. It holds moisture in the foliage like magic.
Keep your cut Christmas tree away from heat sources, including the fireplace and heating vents.
We use as much of the real, evergreen stuff around our home at Christmas as we can: the scent helps to keep the magic in the occasion.
*** the legion or by calling 902- 5827246 after 4 p.m., Tuesday to Saturday. Cost: $35 per couple, $20 for a single ticket. Light lunch at midnight.
Remember to donate to local food banks and animal shelters.
Happy holidays and best wishes for the New Year.