How to Make an Old Fashioned Christmas Tree

When we were children, buying a Christmas tree wasn't an option for us, especially in the hills of middle Tennessee. However, our dad would cut an eastern red cedar tree for us, it was worth more than gold to us four kids. In this text, I'll take you back to the early 1970s when we were small children and show you how we got our Christmas tree.

All you need is a sharp chopping ax and a nice landowner who will let you cut a live cedar tree. a bucket (5 gallon) large enough to hold your tree up and a few large driveway rocks to secure the tree in the bucket. Then after you place the tree you will need to fill the bucket with fresh water.

In the hills of Tennessee, particularly atop Monteagle mountain, there are vast woods and rocks. Cedar trees thrive on limestone and our father would go out and find us a tree. He would take his axe and cut us a cedar tree from the nearest rock bar. In those days, people did not mind giving permission to cut a tree and were happy to oblige.

To install a cedar Christmas tree in your home, you will need a 5-gallon bucket and some large rocks, such as 3" sewer gravels. First, outline the bucket with the rocks. Then, place the cut tree into the bucket at the desired location and tilt it right to ensure it is standing straight. Push the rocks against the trunk of the tree to secure it in place and prevent it from falling over.Fill the bucket 1/4 with fresh water and make sure you keep the water level there by adding more fresh water ever couple of days or the needles will start to turn brown and start falling from the tree.If you have a wood-burning heater, never place a live plant near it, the water will soon evaporate and the need to water multiple times a day will be necessary.

Now that your tree has been cut, placed in a bucket and has rocks to secure it and filled with 1/4 water, it's time to decorate it.

We didn't have a way to buy fancy ornaments, garlands or even tencil so we reused, borrowed, or made our own.

Cedar trees are actually a type of juniper tree. Different states refer to them by different names. In winter, usually from November to March in Tennessee, they produce highly fragrant blueberries and adorn old-fashioned Cedar (Juniper) trees. Talk about an aroma! These berries have a spicy peppermint smell and nothing lights up a room like an old-fashioned cedar Christmas tree like this type. I am 54 years old not and I can still smell the fresh-cut cedar tree my daddy used to bring to us each December.