The smell of pine and fir, bringing the outside in, is a hallmark of holiday traditions. Once Thanksgiving is over, people are ready to flock to tree farms, plant stores and chain stores to pick out the perfect Christmas tree.

This year is no different. Tree sales are picking up, local retailers report, as locals participate in a tradition that dates back centuries.

Roman and Druid priests worshipped Bacchus and Woten with decorated evergreens, and various accounts date the first Christian use of the tradition to German territories in the 16th century or earlier.

Jim Landis, president of the Delaware Christmas Tree Growers Association, said, “People always seem to reach into their pockets for Christmas.” He said sales at Landis Tree Farm have been encouraging.

Fred Sposato, of Sposato’s Pine Hollow Christmas Tree Farm, also said it has been a good year for tree sales, as employees cut pines and mechanically shake off dead needles before the trees are sent home with customers.

The grower’s association does not keep statistics of tree sales or generated income. The Delaware Department of Agriculture does not record data on tree sales, either. However, based on informal presentations at annual meetings, each year seems to get better, Landis said.

Ernie DeAngelis owns Tomato Sunshine in Rehoboth. He said he usually sells more trees in the first two weeks after Thanksgiving, and, except for some inhospitable weather, sales have been good on his cut Fraser firs.

At Hooked On Plants, owner Joe Cherico said sales began to pick up after Thanksgiving weekend. Cherico’s family business sells a variety of species of freshly cut trees.

Several American cities claim to have been the place where the first American Christmas tree stood. Each has strong connections to Germans, and legends variously claim Hessian soldiers and German immigrants brought the tradition, embraced by England’s Queen Victoria, to America in the 18th century.

To keep a cut tree fresh until Christmas, Cherico recommends making a new cut at the base of the tree’s trunk. Really fresh trees still have sap running and that sap can seal the bottom of the trunk, keeping water out, he said. Trees should be put in warm water to prevent the sap from sealing the new cut, Cherico explained.

The conditions inside the room where the tree is kept – whether it is in a window or near a heater - will affect how quickly it dries out, Cherico said.

Hooked on Plants is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Call 645-0188.
Tomato Sunshine is open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Call 226-9533.
Sposato’s Pine Hollow Christmas Tree Farm is open weekdays 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and weekends 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Call 644-0711. (302)