今年你可能很难找到一棵真正的圣诞树

If you're hunting for the perfect Christmas tree this year, you might have a hard time finding it. Demand for real Christmas trees is at an all-time high, with tree yards selling out much earlier in the season than ever before.

如果你今年正在寻找一棵完美的圣诞树，你可能很难找到它。对真正的圣诞树的需求正处于历史最高水平，圣诞树场在这个季节比以往任何时候都更早地售罄。

As with so many things this year, COVID-19 is partly to blame. More people are staying home for the holidays, making it easier to care for a live tree. After months of lockdown, people are craving signs of life and nature, and a real tree provides that. Linda Pieper, manager of a nursery near Calgary, told CBC, "[A real tree] is like gardening, it just makes you feel good." It could be due to the phenols and terpenes released in a fresh fir tree's aroma, which boosts dopamine levels in the brain and makes us happier.

就像今年发生的许多事情一样，COVID-19要承担部分责任。越来越多的人在家里过假期，这样照顾一棵活的树就更容易了。经过几个月的禁闭，人们渴望生命和自然的迹象，而一棵真正的树提供了这一点。Linda Pieper是卡尔加里附近一家苗圃的经理，她告诉CBC，“(一棵真正的树)就像园艺一样，它让你感觉很好。”这可能是由于新鲜的冷杉树的香气中释放的酚类和萜类物质提高了大脑中的多巴胺水平，让我们更快乐。

Father and son drag home a Christmas tree.Sol Stock / Getty Images

Many families are eager to create fun and festive traditions for their kids in order to make this particular holiday season seem less bleak, and it's hard to think of anything more Christmassy than heading to a tree farm to cut your own and haul it home. Many farms offer additional outdoor activities that appeal to families following social distancing protocols, such as campfires and wagon rides and hot apple cider.

为了让这个特别的节日看起来不那么凄凉，许多家庭都渴望为他们的孩子们创造有趣的节日传统，而且很难想象有什么比自己去种树场砍树然后拖回家更有圣诞气息的了。许多农场提供额外的户外活动来吸引那些遵守社交距离协议的家庭，比如营火、乘马车和热苹果酒。

It's been predicted that, with demand so high, Christmas trees could be the next item to suffer from pandemic-related shortages. One might argue that it's a good sign we've moved on from essentials like toilet paper and all-purpose flour to decorative elements like Christmas trees, but it's still a frustrating situation for people who'd counted on getting a real tree.

据预测，由于需求如此之高，圣诞树可能会成为下一个因大流行而出现短缺的商品。有人可能会说，这是一个好迹象，我们已经从卫生纸和通用面粉这样的必需品转向了圣诞树这样的装饰元素，但对于那些指望得到一棵真正的圣诞树的人来说，这仍然是个令人沮丧的情况。

Treehugger reached out to Middlebrook Farm in Saugeen Shores, Ontario, which sells both pre-cut and cut-your-own Christmas trees. The farm opened a week earlier than usual this year because it received so many messages from customers wanting trees early. On November 23 a spokesperson for the farm said, "We sold a lot this past weekend, so we are already ahead in sales. If it keeps up, we will sell a lot more than normal, I would predict."

Treehugger走访了位于安大略省索根海岸的米德布鲁克农场，这家农场既出售预砍过的圣诞树，也出售自己亲手砍下的圣诞树。今年，这家农场比往年提前一周开放，因为它收到了很多客户要求提前植树的信息。11月23日，该农场的一名发言人表示:“上周末我们卖出了很多，所以我们的销售额已经领先。我预计，如果这种情况持续下去，我们的销量将远远超过正常水平。”

As someone who grew up in northern Ontario, Canada, and always cut down a spindly Charlie Brown-ish fir from deep in the forest, I must admit a slight aversion to the pre-wrapped Christmas trees that are already propped up in vacant lots around town. In my opinion it's far too early in the season to buy a real tree; it will lose many of its needles long before Christmas comes and hardly look fresh (though it is recommended to store it outside for a while yet). Plus, a regular-sized Christmas tree occupies too much space in my cozy living room.

作为一个在加拿大安大略省北部长大的人，我总是从森林深处砍下一棵细长的查理布朗式的冷杉，我必须承认我对那些已经摆在城镇周围空地上的预先包装好的圣诞树有点反感。在我看来，现在买一棵真正的圣诞树还为时过早;在圣诞节到来之前，它的许多叶子就会掉落，看起来也不那么新鲜了(尽管建议把树放在外面存放一段时间)。另外，一棵普通大小的圣诞树在我舒适的客厅里占据了太多空间。

I'll be going a different route this year, opting for a small potted tree that can be replanted outdoors come spring. This conveniently bypasses the ethical issue of cutting down a perfectly healthy tree for temporary decoration and the environmental catastrophe that is plastic trees. The only problem is, these are surprisingly hard to find! Nobody seems to sell living trees in my area, so I might have to head out into the bush again – this time carrying a shovel, instead of a saw.

今年我打算走一条不同的路，选择一棵小小的盆栽树，春天到来时可以在户外重新种植。这很方便地绕过了砍伐一棵健康的树做临时装饰和塑料树造成的环境灾难的伦理问题。唯一的问题是，这些非常难找!在我住的地方似乎没有人卖活树，所以我可能不得不再次走进丛林——这次我拿了一把铲子，而不是锯子。

While some are saddened by the thought of any tree being cut down, I think it's good news in general that people are eager to put real trees in their homes this year. There have been enough climate savings made inadvertently throughout the lockdowns of 2020 – think of all the places we haven't gone and things we haven't done – that I don't think it hurts to bring a piece of nature into our homes to gain some peace of mind. If it brings families together, supports local tree farmers, and creates beauty without generating more unnecessary plastic waste, I'm all for it.

虽然有些人对任何一棵树被砍伐的想法感到悲哀，但我认为总的来说这是一个好消息，人们渴望在今年把真正的树放在他们的家里。在2020年的封锁期间，我们无意中节省了足够多的气候开支——想想那些我们没有去过的地方和我们没有做过的事情——因此，我不认为把大自然的一部分带回家来获得心灵的平静会有什么坏处。如果它能让家庭团结起来，支持当地的种树农民，在不产生更多不必要的塑料垃圾的情况下创造美丽，我完全支持它。