Christmas Trees: Real Vs Fake
An Evergreen Debate on High “Treeson”
decide who has the best argument
Read & Vote Below!
Fake Tree Argument
Marcus Schaeffer
Lexington Middle School Pastor
Fake Tree Aficionado
Hello and merry Christmas! I’m so excited for Christmas and all of the traditions that come with the holiday season. I love Christmas lights, Christmas cookies, Christmas parties, and probably my favorite Christmas staple—I love Christmas trees. There is something so special about seeing a Christmas tree with twinkling lights adorning your living room on a cool winter evening. But, as you would expect from the topic of this debate, I have a strong opinion on one aspect of that tree: It’s gotta be fake.
Now, right off the bat, some of you agree with me and some of you don’t, but if I may, I’d like to tell you why having a fake tree is not only superior to a real tree, but may also be the only option for the fervent Christ follower.
First off, I’d like to address the pragmatic benefits of owning a fake tree. Each year when I put up my Christmas decorations (before Thanksgiving, by the way, but that’s another debate), instead of traveling to the Christmas tree farm and spending around $80-$100 on a tree (according to nationwide average costs on trees), I simply go to my closet and pull out my fake tree and have a glorious time setting it out and fluffing it up to the tune of Nat King Cole’s Christmas album. Now, I’m no calculus teacher, but to me it seems a frugal thing to spend $100 on a fake tree that will last me for years, rather than spending $80-$100 every Christmas season on what is essentially an allergen diffuser in your living room.
Not to mention all the upkeep that a real tree requires. You have needles falling around the base of the tree, you need to keep it watered (lest your tree becomes a fire hazard or poignant reminder of the death of all things), and your pets wind up drinking out of the water bowl. Sure, it smells great, but so does the Holiday Forest Fir scented candle that you can get from Target for the low price of $5. Again, I’m no calculus teacher, but if you just want something that smells good, go with the candle.
Call me a simple man, but I love the cathartic process of fluffing a fake Christmas tree, knowing that it will still look good in several weeks and the needles won’t be falling off. Also, as a person who truly loves Christmas decorations, my fake tree allows me to put my tree up early and leave it out late, helping me feel like the Christmas season is extended. For the entire winter season, warm light from the tree fills my living room; warm cocoa, my belly; and warm feelings, my heart.
Finally, I’d make the case that having a fake tree is not only practical, but a matter of stewardship. Psalm 24 says that “the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” In the creation of the world, God saw all that He had made and called it “good.” These things lead me to believe that we should be good stewards of God’s good creation, and I don’t think that this stewardship involves clear-cutting forests for our own selfish, yuletide merriment. We are also called to be good stewards of our finances, and as I mentioned earlier, fake trees are the more financially responsible option.
In conclusion, real trees are stupid and fake trees are better. Merry Christmas!
Real Tree Argument
Ben MacGill
Nicholasville High School Guys Groups Pastor
Amateur Lumberjack
Recently, my family got our annual Christmas tree. Maybe more than ever this year, the debate over getting a real or fake Christmas tree was revisited with striking vigor. (Thanks inflation! [womp, womp…]) I share this to say that I have not come to my conclusions carelessly or without regard to the issues of daily life.
That said, allow me to tell you why a real Christmas tree is decisively better than a fake one. And while it is not only the best ethical and ecological choice, I want to spend our time thinking through why it is the right moral choice. In fact, it is the only choice we should entertain if we want to consider ourselves true disciples of Jesus.
Let us start by considering what we mean by real and fake. Reality is something that we can agree to as being true or genuine. If we describe someone as “fake,” it is not usually something that we celebrate. If someone offers you fake fruit, you will still be hungry. If you bring fake flowers to a romantic interest at the beginning of a date, you won’t be thought of as practical or frugal; you’ll be called cheap.
When we choose what is real, we are choosing to celebrate what is good and true and beautiful. When we choose what is real over what is fake, we are living out Philippians 4:8 - “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
I would even go so far as to say that when we put up a real tree, we are enjoying creation and, thereby, in a small way, giving thanks to the Creator of all good things.
That said, with this choice, we are often choosing the more difficult path. There is more setup to do. There is the hassle of going out somewhere and getting a tree and getting it back inside your home, and then there is often cleanup to be done, including vacuuming. Ugh.
After this, there is more care involved. There is watering, and ultimately, after the parties are over and the season has come to a close, there is disposal. I’m not naive about any of this.
However, I believe it was the British poet Alfred Tennyson who first said, “Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.” I don’t know a better lesson we can apply to all living things—whether a tree, or a garden, or a roommate or significant other, or even a mother.
All good relationships take care and work and patience. All good things in God’s creation are broken in some way and, as a result, require thoughtful care. The care and effort that goes into these things, even if they don’t last forever, are acts of love. Christmas trees are hardly any different, and if we let them, they will teach us a lesson that will carry us well through the Christmas season and on to a new year, a way of living in God’s world and with God’s people that is more patient and grace-filled.
To top this off like the star on your (real) tree: Celebrate what is good and true, eschew what is not. Fight against the darkness of consumerism, and lean into the beauty of creation that the good Lord himself came to save. This is literally a matter of life (and death).
Buy a real tree, and have a very merry Christmas.