The tradition of holiday evergreens goes back to ancient Egypt and Rome, but we can thank Germany for our decorated firs. Danke also for “O Tannenbaum” or “O Christmas Tree,” a song we sang at elementary school holiday programs, even in good ole Hilo, Hawaii.
I have many stories about evergreens including this one from Deutschland, where we spent several years.
At Weihnachten, Germans waited until children went to bed on Christmas Eve before putting up their fir. The next morning when keiki awoke, they found a magnificent magically decorated tree! The wow factor must have been huge, but my brood never experienced it because all I could think was: You mean in addition to waiting for hyper kids to fall asleep so we could assemble the new bike, the doll house and wrap the “Santa” gifts, we also had to trim a tannenbaum on Christmas Eve?
Sorry, kiddos. No can do. I was glad to get back to the islands.
In Hilo in the 1950s and ‘60s, the Christmas tree we decorated was the Norfolk pine, brought to Hawaii from the South Pacific in the 19th century. We were happy until pictures of A-shaped tinseled specimens from America started appearing. That’s how it goes, doesn’t it? We’re good with what we got until something else shows up from the outside world.
By the 1970s, evergreens were being shipped in for the holidays. Many of these imported trees are pricey Douglas firs from the Pacific Northwest with an earlier and unexpected link to Hawaii Island.
A cousin told me that Douglas firs are named for David Douglas, a Scotsman and a botanist. He was sent out by the Royal Horticultural Society of England to gather plants and in the late 1820s, spent time on the northwest American continent. In 1834, on his way back to England, he stopped in Hawaii and met his untimely death on the slopes of Maunakea, trampled by a bull after falling into a pit.
I narrowed my eyes. “Is this bull?” But no, because Cuz has even seen a monument called Ka lua kauka, or the Doctor’s Pit, where several Douglas firs are planted in his honor. So no need fork over half a paycheck for these prized trees since some are already growing on the island.
This year, not many trees are being imported because of COVID. Who has kala for an expensive evergreen when islanders are in food lines? Besides, invasive species have been hitching rides on these foreign firs, such as the foot-long alligator lizard that turned up in Hilo last year.
Oh, goody. More reptiles.
This pandemic has forced us to rethink priorities. At the top is tourism, a lopsided industry providing menial jobs for islanders and impacting precious natural resources, so there’s much-needed talk about diversifying. One possibility is Christmas tree farms, and I’m happy to report that such enterprises are already underway. We can support them by buying trees grown on this island.
There are also ecologically minded mainlanders who, bypassing cut holiday firs that only end up dead in the landfill, are looking at Norfolk pines because our faithful standbys are not only air purifiers but can be grown in pots and reused every year. In cold-weather winter climes, these tropical trees should remain indoors or at least in a screened porch, but they’re quite hardy.
So, here’s a novel scenario: Norfolk pines from our island becomes an exotic export to the continent. Fundraisers importing evergreens find another way to raise funds, and islanders stop encouraging the importation of firs and critters. Locals are lauded far and wide as ecological trendsetters when we choose the Norfolk pine as our Christmas tree.
And something old becomes new again.
Frohe Weihnachten and Mele Kalikimaka.
Rochelle delaCruz was born in Hilo, graduated from Hilo High School, then left to go to college. After teaching for 30 years in Seattle, Wash., she retired and returned home to Hawaii. She welcomes your comments at rainysideview@gmail.com. Her column appears every other Monday.