I have always had a real tree since we had my grandparents' woods in which to harvest lumber. It was logged sustainably for years until my grandfather died.
Nothing beats the smell of a real tree and the uniqueness of each one.
Based on the original pagan tradition of celebrating the Winter Solstice, a tree was meant to represent the continuation of life in the dead of winter and to thank the Earth for her resources. Jeff Taylor, Oshawa Ontario. I've never had a fake tree in my life, and I don't plan on starting now, fake trees are for people who don't appreciate the true meaning of the season. I grew up in the woods, where you took what you got and appreciated it. Christmas was something you looked forward to, not something you dreaded coming.