LIVING CHRISTMAS TREES.

Waikato Times, Volume 119, Issue 19814, 19 February 1936, Page 3

LIVING CHRISTMAS TREES.

Christmas always conjures up to people who have come from Home. pictures of fir trees glistening white under a cold frosty sky— While inside, in the warm room with its blazing fire, orphans of the forest, decorated bv mun. gleam with tinsel and coloured balls. \Vhile in the mountains of California the snow lies deep and the trains must put! their way through snow sheds. along the coast Christmas is usually celebrated in sunshine and warm weather _ Much has been written of the blessings of California and while the region around the San Francisco Bay must confess to cool winds and occasional fog, yet it can boast of a temperate and sa§isfying climate. This fact has led to a very picturesque Christmas we om. Californians pride themselves on their gardens. Lack of rain and blazing skies make for an agreeable outdoor life. but, “hile we thank nature for these blessings. we must make up for her deficiencies arti—flcially. So important does the garden become that it even celebrates Christmas with us. Shortly before Christmas one‘s neighbours are to be seen in their gardens stringing mysterious wires amongst the branches of their fir trees. Queer shapes lurk in the bushes. Then one night everyone sets out on foot or in cars; harassed policemen prepare to regulate the sightseers and the festive season has begun. A transformation has taken place in the once sedate residential district. .-\ll is a blaze of living Christmas trees—some twinkling with hundreds of tiny lights, others gltsten with frost and shimmering icicles. in another garden Santa. Claus sits complete with reindeers. Someone else has a flood-lit creche. ln windows lighted candles gleam. For miles the gardens present a beautiful effect of live and brilliant trees. Night after night people come to admire them. People try to out—do each other in the beauty of their gardens, but the simplest are the most satisfying" ' Nature does not adorn our trees for us, so we add to the festivity of the season by doing it ourselves—Virginia Bunting.