Friday, December 23, 2005

Merry Christmas--from the World's Largest Christmas Tree


Last night my daughter saw the World's Largest Christmas Tree for the first time. When we moved to this area when I was 9, we seldom went into Wilmington as we lived out in the boondocks, in Myrtle Grove Sound. The one exception was at Christmas, when we'd go in to see the World's Largest Living Christmas Tree. The beautiful tree, with multi-colored lights (I know, I know, some of you are going to say I'm inconsistent as I prefer white lights on my tree), is a sight to see. It was first lighted in 1929 and, with the exception of World War 2, has been lighted every year. You should see it from the Cape Fear River Bridge, as it reflects in the water. My daughter wanted to know how big the tree was when I was little--I told her it was probably taller than now, as the tree has lost many branches and seems to be barely hanging on to life. Its sparse branches are covered with Spanish moss. Years ago they installed a utility pole next to the tree and that pole holds the weight of the wire and lights (which are quite heavy). I'm not sure how many more years the tree will be around, and I'll be sad when it goes for I thought I was the luckiest kid around to live so close to the "world's largest living Christmas Tree." Click here for a history of the tree and a daytime picture of it taken three quarters of a century ago. May your holidays be as bright as this tree.

8 comments:

  1. Merry Christmas, Sage!

    Wonderful post, BTW!

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  2. What a beautiful tree! I can't imagine seeing how big it is in person. Hope you are enjoying your time with your family. Have a very Merry Christmas!

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  3. The link doesn't show the photo for me, Sage, but it is nice to know about this. Thanks for posting it.

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  4. Kenju, the photo took a long time to load--it was a huge file--and you could zoom into and out to see it better.

    Too all of you, from Alabama to Minnesota, from the East Coast to the Middle East, a very Merry Christmas!

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  5. Have you taken this photo yourself, or is it copyright. I would like to use it in a short story.

    Y.S Trine in Norway

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