Tree Dressing Day
Tree Dressing Day
Tree Dressing Day around the world
Taking Responsibility
We all have a part to play in creating this new festival. In Britain Tree Dressing day should be inclusive of all our cultures, and something which we can hand back to the world as a celebration relevant to the 21st century. Any ritual or action which makes us take responsibility for our trees must be welcomed. At a time when the 'appointed carers' (local authority arboricultural officers) are outnumbered by the trees in their charge by an average of 60,000 to one, we need to remember these are our trees too. We must re-learn how to respect and revere them, be ready to speak out for them and go to their aid.
In ancient Rome writes Fraser in The Golden Bough, a cornel-tree grew on the Palatine Hill, which was esteemed as one of the most sacred objects in Rome. 'Whenever the tree appeared to a passer by to be drooping, he immediately set up a hue and cry which was echoed by the people in the street, and soon a crowd might be seen running helter skelter from all sides with buckets of water, as if (says Plutarch) they were hastening to put out a fire.'
We need to give as much care and protection to our trees, to really take them into our lives and look after them for life.
