Abstract

Before "real" and "artificial" became the two most prominent classifications of Christmas trees, an entirely different type captured the minds of those Americans who celebrated the holiday—the community Christmas tree. Created in the Progressive Era, it was both a conservation effort and a project to further public culture. Its supporters hoped that by having this one tree only, instead of a tree for every household, communities could help reduce the harvest pressure on the nation's dwindling forests. Advocates also thought that by planting a community tree in a public place, it would help establish a more inclusive culture in an age of immigration. While many were planted in town squares, they ultimately did not replace the household tree. Midcentury tree farms made Christmas trees readily available to household consumers and, consequently, conservationist worries about overlogging faded. So, too, did the interest in public space as the middle class increasingly embraced suburbia. By the 1970s, however, the farmed tree was being challenged by the plastic tree, setting up a consumer decision between "real" and "artificial" trees that still exists today. This current framing, however, ignores the possibility of a tree set in public space—and of addressing environmental and social concerns together.