There are some people in our country who now have difficulties with the tradition of the Christmas tree because they cannot close their eyes to how Christmas trees are produced. Yes, produced, the old tradition of the Christmas tree creates an enormous great demand for firs and blue spots, and to satisfy them, there is nowadays an industrial production of Christmas trees.
This Christmas tree production, such as industrial production in many other areas, is increasingly criticizing, the Christmas tree monoculture is increasingly causing problems, gigantic Christmas tree plantations are suppressing our traditional mixed forests, and of course it is not possible without pesticides-in many places surrounded by huge Christmas tree breeding companies, residents fear that the pesticides get into the groundwater.
A total of around 25 million Christmas trees in Germany are sold in Germany, around 95 percent of these Christmas trees come from local cultivation. Whole forest areas are cleared for the Christmas trees, the plantations with the Christmas trees are first created and then injected large areas with the controversial broadband herbicide "Roundup" (with glyphosate) so that the monocultures remain free from other plants even without using work.
A firing plantation on forest areas is also considered a forest area, due to this legislative gap, the cultivation of Christmas trees is considered a reforestation, although it really doesn't have much to do with reforestation. That is why farmers do not need permits if they create a Christmas tree monoculture in their forest, the laws should be changed, but it is not yet possible everywhere.
If the forest laws make it clear everywhere that a Christmas tree plantation is not a forest, it could be tight with our Christmas trees. Before the forests in other countries have to believe in it, we may rethink:
In view of this emerging Christmas tree shortage, it is urgently time for a sustainable Christmas tree alternative, at least for all people who would like to see the forests of the world. Here are some ideas on how you could prove yourself as a pioneer in this area by building your own Christmas tree yourself, maybe even as a reusable model:
1. The self -designed Christmas tree made of cardboard
This Christmas tree is the right one for families with children of an age when painting and tinkering is really fun. For this Christmas tree you need a very large cardboard board, preferably as big as a door.
Possible sources of supply are in addition to shops for architectural needs, where they get smooth, continuous cardboard in almost any size, e.g. B. the shops that sell things for people who "shouldn't be stupid", a box of a flat screen can already take considerable dimensions.
Now cut a Christmas tree out of it, really neatly how a child in painting age imagines it. It must now be painted, with ecologically produced, non -toxic and wiped casein color z. B. (placa color is a casein color).
Depending on how much passion your child develops while painting, the cardboard is simply painted green, or becomes a small work of art, with a hinted background, branches and needles.
If a handyman is in the family, he may build a frame for the Christmas trees, if not, he can be attached to a stable chair or similar (before that of course), maybe it is also possible to hang it on a door.
That was the preparation - and this Christmas tree is now being decorated together at the time the family tradition specifies. You can glue the decoration, pin it on the cardboard with needles, or if you take small screws with a counter -mother, the decoration for children is guaranteed to be safe.
Lametta can of course also be hung over the edge, and you could install a chain of lights bombproof behind the cardboard, only the candles are stuck forward by holes in the cardboard.
2. The Christmas tree as a frame for real fir green
In our forests, not only Christmas tree firs grow that grow as quickly as possible and then should be felled, there are also firs in our forestry, e.g. B. native white firs or the Nordmann firs introduced from the Caucasus area.
They even proved to be less frosted than the domestic noble fir, because they are also often planted in mixed forests because of their profound root system, which are intended to become stormproof - since global warming is to be feared, so to speak, the "fir green of the future".
Because that's what it's about the fir green, the white firs or Nordmann firs in forestry should not be felled again. But in many federal states, forester sell fir green before Christmas, which is cut by the trees in such a way that they can continue to grow.
Both the needles of the white fir and those of the Nordmann fir are ideal to make an alternative Christmas tree with the fir green: Both do not prick, both are nice and dark green, both stay in nature for years at the branch, on their self-made Christmas tree with a little moisture supply.
A self-made, reusable Christmas tree could look: a wooden plate cut in a Christmas tree shape, with many screwed hooks and eyelets for attaching the fir branches. If there is a really ambitious handyman in the family, the Christmas tree may also be three -dimensional, a kind of "wooden branches" of a strong medium.
This reusable wooden frame is now equipped with fresh fir green every year and then like the Christmas tree lovingly.
If you want to know how much fir green you need: In the "show with the mouse" you counted-for a fir from average Christmas tree height (1.63 m in Germany) you need 187,333 needles.
3. The ceramic Christmas tree
If you like to work with sound anyway, you could also potter your Christmas tree. Probably not in a size of 1.63 m, but a small fir tree shape should be easy to manufacture on a turntable.
This could even become a very artistic Christmas tree that beautifies the living room from November to February.
4. The house tree as a Christmas tree alternative
Nobody forces them to use a conifer as a traditional Christmas tree. The tradition does not require this at all, because there is a much older tradition that they could build on: the tradition of the Christian "paradise games" that were carried out on December 24th.
There was a "paradise tree" was definitely a (leafless) deciduous tree Only from this paradise tree is said to have developed from the "paradise tree" ...
Accordingly, there is actually nothing against the wintry beech in front of the house. Maybe not with delicacies if every walker can access, but with self -made decorations and with a chain of lights.
Of course, these were by no means all the ideas for making an alternative Christmas tree, they could also paint their Christmas tree in oil, or bake it, or knit it or build it out of wire with a cardboard stitche or pour as a big candle out of wax, with several wives ...