Easter trees sprouting across the province

People in St. John’s are making Easter more festive with one of the holiday’s hottest trends.  

Alex Kennedy
Kicker

Easter is usually not a holiday people celebrate to the same extent as Christmas. But thanks to a recent trend on social media, people are making their homes a bit more festive before the Easter Bunny comes.

The days of making Easter just about chocolate are over. Easter has taken a step into the future, with gifts and decorations for all the girls and boys. One new twist has been thrust into the spotlight, with more and more people starting a new trend:  Easter trees.

Setting up Easter trees is simple. It involves taking a Christmas tree, and decorating it to suit the Easter theme. Most trees are decorated with bright shades of blue, yellow, green and pink. Websites such as Pinterest have seen the idea skyrocket in popularity. However, the idea of putting Easter eggs on a tree is nothing new.

Easter trees have been a staple of German celebrations for centuries. The village of Saalfeld is known for its Easter egg tree, which holds more than 9,200 Easter eggs on its branches.

In St. John’s, Kate Wall has decorated for Easter in the past two years, inspired by an Easter tree she saw on Instagram.

“I bought a white tree a year and a half ago originally as a Christmas tree, but I liked the look of it so much I decided not to take it down since then. A lot of base ornaments stay the same year round. But for each different occasion I’ll add a few different touches accordingly.”

Making new traditions

Seventy-year-old Herb Burry says Easter is always a fond memory for him to look back on. His Easter celebrations are rooted in tradition.

“As a boy, I can always remember the thought of waking up to finding Easter chocolates, Easter bunnies and a good home-cooked meal. That would be most prevalent for me in my memories.”

However, Burry is ready to change with the times. He put up his Easter tree for the first time this year.

“We kept our Christmas tree up in our living room. We decided we would keep the tree there, and have [our grandchildren] decorate it with Easter eggs.”

Burry likes having the Easter tree in the living room, saying it’s a nice tradition to start with his grandchildren. He did have his own reasons for leaving the tree up for Easter though.

“It’s mostly because we were lazy. We didn’t take the Christmas tree until late. So, we decided to have a St. Patrick’s Day tree, and an Easter tree.”

Easter comes all but once a year, but a tree helps keep the festive spirit all year round. Kate Wall says she’ll keep her tree ready for any occasion, whatever the holiday may be.