Holiday – My Favorite Trees

December 26, 2023December 26, 2023

Episode 92: The Fir

While there are many holidays that coincide with the Winter season, there are few that involve traditions I love so much as the Christmas Tree. And while there are many options for what kind of evergreen conifer to bring into your home and decorate with lights and baubles, the champion of them all is the Fir. What is it about this tree that makes it so well-loved at this time of year? I’ll explore this species’ relationship with the holiday, dive into why Russia ties a holiday tree to New Years instead, and provide some truly cursed Fir facts that’ll make you forget that this is a Christmas special. I warned you.

Tons of bonus content is available on my Patreon! (patreon.com/MyFavoriteTrees)
Music is by Academy Garden (academygarden.bandcamp.com)
Cover Art is by @boomerangbrit on Instagram
Script Editing and Social Media is by Laurie Hilburn (lhilburn.journoportfolio.com)
Follow me on Twitter and Facebook @MyFavoriteTrees and on Instagram @treepodcast

Sources:

https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/abies/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6268138/

https://ncchristmastrees.com/fraser-fir-trees/

https://cnr.ncsu.edu/news/2021/12/christmas-trees-smell-good/

https://www.conifers.org/pi/Abies_procera.php

https://andrewcfox.wixsite.com/andrewcfox/post/totw-fir

https://andrewcfox.wixsite.com/andrewcfox/post/tree-of-the-week-the-trojan-horse

https://www.rbth.com/history/335727-charlotte-prussia-christmas-russia

https://www.new-east-archive.org/articles/show/9424/yolka-russia-new-year-tree-pagan-soviet-christmas

https://www.npr.org/2015/12/19/460186573/dont-call-it-a-christmas-tree-how-russias-yolka-survived-the-revolution

https://www.whitehousehistory.org/press-room/press-backgrounders/white-house-christmas-trees

https://www.nps.gov/whho/learn/historyculture/national-christmas-tree-history.htm

https://northernwoodlands.org/articles/article/blisters

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/adsu.202200234

December 14, 2021December 14, 2021

Episode 39: The Bodhi Tree

There’s more than one December holiday that centers around a tree! Bodhi Day celebrates that day when Siddhartha Gautama sat under a Bodhi Tree, achieved Enlightenment, and became the Buddha. Find out how this tree helped start a new religion and how you can celebrate this holiday in the modern-day. Music is by Acadamy Garden. Cover art is by @boomerangbrit on Instagram. Follow me on Facebook and Twitter @MyFavoriteTrees and now on Instagram @TreePodcast!

Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/plant/Moraceae

https://nitishpriyadarshi.blogspot.com/2011/05/importance-of-ficus-religosa-peepal.html

https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/24168#tosummaryOfInvasiveness

https://indianexpress.com/article/parenting/learning/buddha-enlightenment-nirvana-5288593/

https://www.history.com/topics/religion/buddhism

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/introduction-cultures-religions-apah/hinduism-apah/a/hinduism-and-buddhism-an-introduction

https://www.incredibleindia.org/content/incredible-india-v2/en/destinations/bodh-gaya/bodhi-tree.html

https://web.archive.org/web/20161230013831/http://libweb.hawaii.edu/digicoll/annexation/petition/pet-intro.php

https://www.honolulumagazine.com/a-bodhi-tree-birthday/

https://www.worldhistory.org/Ashoka_the_Great/

https://www.historyhit.com/locations/the-sri-maha-bodhi-tree/

https://www.doityourself.com/stry/bodhi-day

April 27, 2021April 27, 2021

Episode 23: The Cottonwood and Arbor Day

This week is the United State’s observance of Arbor Day. Hear the story of how this tree-planting holiday came to be and learn about a tree with terrific importance to the native tribes and pioneers who lived in the Great Plains. Music is by Academy Garden. Cover art is by @boomerangbrit on Instagram. Follow me on Facebook and Twitter @MyFavoriteTrees.