Christmas Tree

The tradition of the evergreen Christmas tree might have come to the United States with Hessian troops during the American Revolution, or with German immigrants to Pennsylvania and Ohio. The custom spread slowly. In New England, the Puritans had banned Christmas celebrations of any sort. Their influence took a long time to overcome - schools in Boston stayed open on Christmas Day through 1870. In 1851, a Cleveland minister nearly lost his job because he allowed a tree in his church.

MONT ALTO, Pa. - On a bitter cold Friday night, the family of U.S. Army Sgt. Edward W. "Eddie" Shaffer gathered at the community Christmas tree in Mont Alto, joined by about 150 friends and neighbors there to show their support for the wounded soldier. "This is really overwhelming. I didn't expect this," grandfather Edward L. Shaffer said before the tree lighting ceremony, as residents of the small Franklin County community came up to the family offering hugs and words of encouragement.

FUNKSTOWN ? A local concolor fir will grace the entrance to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center this holiday season. Representatives from the hospital visited Good Spirits Tree Farm south of Funkstown a few weeks ago, said Mike Gagarine, who owns the tree farm. "I told them I wanted to donate it," Gagarine said. Gagarine and his crew will cut down the tree and deliver it today to the hospital in Washington, D.C. Grayson Reeder, Matt Adams and Tom Koebel, who all work for Gagarine on weekends during the Christmas season, will help cut and haul the tree, Gagarine said.

Q: My spouse wants an artificial Christmas tree. He says it is safer, but I think a fresh cut one is better for the environment. Is it? A: You might not think that cutting down a tree is good for the environment, but it could still be better than the artificial tree. Artificial trees often use a wooden core, so at least one tree was cut down for it. Artificial trees use petroleum and metal resources and are often made overseas, requiring higher shipping costs for raw materials and finished trees.

WAYNESBORO, PA. waynesboro@herald-mail.com It's the last big evergreen to herald in the Christmas season in Waynesboro's center square, but it's not slipping silently into history. The tree, a 35-foot-tall blue spruce, had just been lowered to the ground by a Grove crane Tuesday morning when 15 feet of its top broke off. It's the last tree in the square because the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation in the spring begins its long-discussed remake of the public square and synchronization of downtown Waynesboro's traffic control system.

SMITHSBURG -- Wayne and Shannon Steenburg were in search of the perfect holiday tree Saturday afternoon. So they went Christmas chopping. For the past five years, the Hagerstown couple has headed to Mountain's Edge Tree Farm the weekend after Thanksgiving to choose and cut an evergreen. Accompanied by their three children, the pilgrimage is a bit of a family tradition, Shannon Steenburg said. Grandparents, aunts and uncles also are part of the group -- roaming across 36 acres, searching for just the right tree, cutting it down and hauling it back to their cars.

Last week's poll question was: What do you think of the recent trend to call a "Christmas" tree a "Holiday" tree? "I don't really care what you call it, but the fact of the matter is, decorating the evergreen tree came from the pagan traditions of the winter solstice. All the traditions, down to your yule, feasts, holly berries, caroling, gift giving, lit candles, kissing under the mistletoe and much more are all pagan traditions from the winter solstice. In ancient Babylon, the feast of the Son of Isis was celebrated on Dec. 25th.

Traffic moves around the Christmas tree in the Greencastle, Pa., square Sunday evening.

Ernest Talbert attempts to straighten the star atop the Christmas tree Wednesday in front of Washington County Hospital.

Coming Saturday Tree lighting, governor's visit: Stories you'll find in Saturday's Herald-Mail include the lighting of the Christmas tree in Hagerstown's City Park and a visit by Pennsylvania's governor to Chambersburg.