Christmas trees

Coniferous trees in Yoho National Park reach toward the sky with snow-topped mountains in the background in Canada's stretch of the Rocky Mountains, straddling the border of British Columbia and Alberta

Extreme weather events lead to Christmas tree shortage in Canada

Environment

It takes at least 10 years for a Christmas tree to grow big enough to be cut down. And Canada’s loss of tree crops due to recent extreme weather events has led to a shortage that could last for many holiday seasons to come.

The Christmas tree at Faneuil Hall marketplace in downtown Boston is from Long Island, New York. But is it a religious symbol? Many people say, not really.

Are Christmas trees religious? Well, yes … and no.

Religion
The branches of a Christmas tree ready to be harvested are seen in a field at Wick Farm in Colchester, Britain, November 29, 2017.

What I learned by getting my very first Christmas tree

Culture
A view across the devastated city of Halifax, Nova Scotia after the Halifax Explosion, looking toward the harbor.

The 1917 explosion in Halifax that reverberated in Boston

Conflict