Christmas Tree

LIKE MANY HOUSEHOLDS, ours has been busy trying to dispose of the remnants of Christmas. Last weekend, we stripped the Christmas tree of its finery, pried it loose from its holder and carried it, in a not-so-solemn procession, to a resting place.The Christmas tree fought back. It scratched its pallbearers, my 17-year-old son and me. It took a swipe at a living room lamp. It dropped needles faster than some Block dancers drop garments.Once we got the tree out of the house, we wrestled it to the sidewalk.

Encinitas, California.--In a greenhouse in Madison, Wisconsin, a row of ordinary-looking six-inch spruce trees may represent the ghosts of Christmas future. These tiny trees are clones of superior white spruces, fortified with a bacterial gene for pest resistance and rooted in soil after long incubation in a lab dish.They represent only the second success scientists have had in regrowing conifers (cone-bearing trees) from genetically engineered embryos. The first came last year at Michigan Technological University with a European larch, and similar manipulations of fir and pine are close behind.

In this country, it is informally called "the Christmas tree," but in its native France it is croquembouche, or "crackle in the mouth." Both are descriptive, but if you want to serve one of these fantastic pastry centerpieces at your holiday party, there is only one place to go -- Joseph Poupon's traditional French bakery on East Baltimore Street, Patisserie Poupon. The croquembouche is a cone-shaped tower of cream puffs held in place by a sugar mixture that is at first sticky and then crackly.

Whether from the evening glow of the Christmas tree or the candles of Kwanzaa's kinara, there's a warmth surrounding the holidays that evoke a spirit of family, love and giving thanks. For many, that means sharing in the joys of giving to both loved ones and the less fortunate through food, fellowship and music. So, in the celebration of the season, several area celebrities took the time to reflect on their fondest holiday memories and traditions. Here, their reflections: JOYCE J. SCOTT visual and performance artist From making pipe-cleaner ornaments with her mother, Elizabeth T. Scott, to playing the tambourine during church street ministries at the age of 3, visual and performance artist Joyce J. Scott has countless fond memories of how she spent the Christmas holiday as a child.

TODAY'S HOLIDAY TOPIC is: Christmas Tree Care.The Christmas tree is a cherished holiday tradition that dates back 500 years, to the early Germans. What happened was, one night right around Christmas, a bunch of early Germans were sitting around, and one of them, named Helmut, said: "I know! Let's chop down a perfectly good fir tree, drag it inside, and see if we can get it to stand up again!""Why in the world would we do that?" asked the other early Germans, who also happened to speak English.

Annapolitans had thought that this year's city Christmas tree could be no worse than last year's nautical wonder -- featuring a mannequin in a rain slicker that startled some who thought it was a body dangling from a branch.But this year's "Yuletide Harvest" theme tree in its prominent spot in downtown Annapolis has managed to rekindle a heated debate about an object put up to bring the community together during the holiday season.Decorated to honor Maryland's agricultural heritage, the 22-foot Colorado blue spruce features fruit baskets with bananas and apples, bunches of dried tobacco and ears of corn, and red rakes and pitchforks jutting out in all directions.

EACH YEAR, visitors to Crofton are welcomed by the sparkling lights of a Christmas tree in front of the Crofton Country Club. The lighting ceremony, which typically features local politicians, music, refreshments and a visit from Santa -- was scheduled for last night.My favorite community Christmas tree is the one behind Town Hall. This tree doesn't have lights. The ornaments filling its branches are not always elegant or sophisticated. Still, the decorating ceremony for the Town Hall tree, held Saturday morning, was full of love, fun and excitement about the holidays.

IT MADE NO SENSE. It was totally impractical. It was one of those rare occurrences, a few hours of spontaneous fun. The other night, on a whim, my 14-year-old son and I set up the model train in the living room.The living room floor is not the recommended spot to put a train. If you put a train track on the floor, there is a good chance someone will trip over it. Threading the tracks through the furniture can be problematic.A better spot would have been down in the basement, on top of the long, flat ping-pong table.

THERE ARE milestones in a father's life. Your kid takes his first step. Pretty soon your kid takes your car. Then one day your kid, not you, cuts down the family Christmas tree.Last weekend I passed the latest of those milestones. I was the one holding the tree while my teen-age sons took turns sawing it down.I was the one who watched as they hoisted the tree onto the roof of the car. I was the one standing on the edge of the action; they were the ones in the thick of the fray and the fir.Passing the Christmas tree saw to a new generation was a somewhat unsettling experience.

Concert Artists of Baltimore celebrated Christmas the old-fashioned way at the Garrett-Jacobs Mansion, home of the Engineers Club. After its annual holiday concert there, many of the 230 audience members joined chorus members for a champagne reception in the mansion's lobby -- singing carols around the Christmas tree, accompanied by artistic director Edward Polochick on piano.There were even holiday gifts, as supporters donated about $1,000 to a Fire Damage Fund to help Concert Artists recover losses from a Dec. 2 electrical fire at its offices.

One-alarm fire hits house in Perry Hall; three injured 2 A one-alarm fire struck a house in Perry Hall at 5:21 a.m. yesterday, Baltimore County Fire Department officials said. The fire in the first block of Heathrow Manor Court, caused minor injuries to three occupants, who were taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. The fire was extinguished in about an hour. Officials didn't release the names of the victims or the cause of the fire. David Kohn Commemorative MARC tickets still available Commemorative tickets are still available for MARC train service to next month's presidential inauguration, according to Maryland Transit Administration officials.

Thanks to helpers at tree-lighting fete The night of Dec. 2 was truly magical as I am sure nearly 150 people came together to celebrate the spirit of the season at the Tree Lighting Ceremony and Visit from Santa Claus at the Edgewood Farmers Market Pole Barn. It was festively decorated and bedecked in red bows and green garland with the sounds of Christmas carols in the air. Sponsored by our group, the Edgewood Alliance, we had a fun-filled evening of special speakers, a tree lighting, visit from Santa, and caroling.

It's time to pile into the car, head to a farm and pick out a Christmas tree. There are an abundance of places near Baltimore to find the perfect pine, fir or spruce - some organic, some already cut and some you can cut yourself. Some places also offer seasonal food, crafts and tractor rides. A few spots are offering discounts, matching last year's prices or posting coupons on their Web sites. Here's a partial list, researched by Rebecca Hyler, a features producer at baltimoresun.com, with help from the Maryland Department of Agriculture (mda.

It's an after-Christmas tradition for the Adelhardt family, who open their 100-acre Whiteford farm to the public to view the livestock that is forbidden in Maryland: the reindeer. Since Maryland law bans deer of any kind kept captive, Brian Adelhardt keeps his three reindeer north of the Mason-Dixon Line - seven acres of his farm are in Pennsylvania. "Reindeer is the biggest attraction here at Christmas time," he said. "On a normal weekend, when we walk along the parking lot, we get a lot of cars from Virginia.

It was a Christmas Eve where, at least in some parts, procrastinating paid off in a big way. The day started with an unexpected shipment of 67 Nintendo Wii game systems -- the most sought-after, but hardest-to-find, item of the year -- arriving at Best Buy in White Marsh. General Manager Dave Wolf chose not to display the game systems to avoid a mob scene. Instead employees walked around the store telling people they were available. Most customers had already given up hope that there would be any available for Christmas and thought he was joking when he said they had them.

In this country, it is informally called "the Christmas tree," but in its native France it is croquembouche, or "crackle in the mouth." Both are descriptive, but if you want to serve one of these fantastic pastry centerpieces at your holiday party, there is only one place to go -- Joseph Poupon's traditional French bakery on East Baltimore Street, Patisserie Poupon. The croquembouche is a cone-shaped tower of cream puffs held in place by a sugar mixture that is at first sticky and then crackly.

John Sturgeon weathered strong winds and icy temperatures to blow up his holiday balloon decorations and turn on the lights in the front and backyard of his Pasadena home. One by one, the 60-year-old blew up snowmen, Santa Claus on a train and on a motorcycle, a toy soldier, and a large carousel that contained horses that moved around a huge snow globe, a Christmas tree, and penguins. "When people visit, I want them to get the full effect from the time they walk up the driveway," said Sturgeon, a retired Baltimore City police sergeant.

The holiday season arrived for choral music fans when J. Ernest Green raised his baton for the Annapolis Chorale and Annapolis Chamber Orchestra's annual "A Celebration of Christmas" concerts Dec. 6 and Dec. 7 at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts. The concert resembled a giant gift with boxes inside boxes to be opened, each containing something for everyone -- those who love singalongs, those who enjoy jazz artists and those who cherish the rare experience of hearing angels sing. The orchestra opened with what has become a festive tradition: "Farandole" from Georges Bizet's L'Arlesienne Suite.

In the endless debate over real versus artificial Christmas trees, my position has remained the same for years. To me, nothing says Christmas like a sterile, odorless chunk of polyethylene pulled from a cardboard box, assembled in color-coded pieces and tarted up with lights and bulbs. But then, I'm a hopeless romantic. Oh, you go ahead and rhapsodize about the supposed joys of real trees: the scent of an evergreen filling the room, the fuller shape, the softer texture of the branches and blah, blah, blah.

For some people, picking out that perfect Christmas tree and cutting it down themselves is the only way to go. Here's a sampling of some of the farms where you can find the perfect tree to decorate this holiday season: Allegany Pleasant Valley Tree Farm -- 333 Gorsuch Road, Hyndman, Pa. / Open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursdays-Sundays. 888-347-8733 or pleasant valleytreefarm.com. Baltimore County Feezers Farm -- 3700 Wards Chapel Road, Marriottsville / Open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekends through Dec. 16. 410-461-5654 or feezers farm.