St Mary’s Church in Rye sported many beautiful Christmas trees created by the various businesses in Rye for the Christmas Tree Festival. While all of them were traditional, small or large Christmas trees, each was decorated differently, with lights of course, but some had personal messages, pictures and one invited the individual to write a wish to hang on it, peace was written on one tag. As soon as one came into the church the eye fell on the light green ladder tree, put up by the shop Ethel loves me, different from the next one.
Coming out of the church outside Fletcher stood a pink tree which was another talking point. Passing one can see people raising an eyebrow-“Why pink?”, “Well it’s different”.
And of course two modern ideas, have hardly overpowered the many traditional trees to enjoy elsewhere. Hastings has gone way out in design, in the middle of the shopping centre, to create a tall aluminium 35 foot structure arguing that a similar design was created by the same manufacturer for Selfridges.
Opinion in Hastings was very divided but apart from its structure, the biggest issue seems to be how much money was spent, something like £45,000. The initial thought of course is that this money could perhaps have been used to put an edgy design of green tree tents, (the reporter’s idea) easy to erect and taken down for homeless people to have a few nights over Christmas out of the cold. The money came from the UK government’s levelling up grant and the criteria was it needed to be used specifically for town centre enhancement, lighting and signage. It needs to be known that it was not Hastings Council direct who financed it as they said they had no money for any Christmas trees, so local business tried to get funding and sponsorship from other sources.
Love Hastings commissioned the aluminium tree work, done by a local firm from the level- up money they received. The manager argued that a tree like this, in stage sections is more durable, and can be used again whereas traditional green trees quickly looked windswept in the past, droopy and scruffy. It was also suggested, being so iconic, it would bring people into the centre, help footfall for the local shops during the Christmas season. It will be a talking point for some time and it will be interesting if seen next year, same as the Rye pink and lovely green ladder tree in the church. By the time this is published the pink tree will have gone (it disappeared by early January).
As a juxtaposition one could not leave out the mural right next to the aluminium tree. It is a beautiful mural of music and musicians perhaps more interesting to some.
Image Credits: Heidi Foster .
Christmas trees aren’t Christmas. I loved seeing the church full of them (as I told one of the organizers, it was like a Narnia where it’s always Christmas but never winter) but the “tradition” they represent only went mainstream in the Victorian era, was imported from Germany, and has roots in Northern Europe’s pagan past. Christmas trees are a secular symbol of a much-loved midwinter holiday (also with roots in paganism) and their appearance has changed over the years, adapted in homes and businesses to suit personal tastes. Rye is full of diverse and creative people — why should their Christmas trees not reflect that? I definitely had my own favorites (the sheep tree, the Ethel tree, the Bournes tree and the Clem-and-churchmouse tree) and my least favorites, and so did everyone else I’m sure, but we can admire the thought put into creating them. The real “tradition” of Christmas was represented in the manger and in the many church services and events over the Advent and Christmas seasons, often attended by people who don’t come to church regularly but feel compelled to come in at least once over the season. That’s the tradition I would like to preserve — Christmas trees can continue to be a matter of taste.
Well said Jane and very interesting too
Cheap and ugly is cheap and ugly. The tree is pagan not Christian. St Mary’s deserves much better than four painted ladders. There’s talent in Rye. There’s also enough money to pay for something meaningful and beautiful.
Ethel Loves Me is a shop that myself and my husband run along with great enthusiastic staff. St Mary’s church encouraged us to think outside the box and we wanted to represent our store.
My husband painted the ladders and we asked one of our creatives to make ceramic discs that we would be able to scent with one of our fragrances, we added the green wool and baubles to add a little more.
We have had a lot of positive comments and of course you are entitled to yours but we didn’t just paint ladders!