(Georgia Recorder)- The holiday season is officially upon us.
Georgia’s state Capitol in Atlanta underwent its annual winter transformation last week, with some workers hanging wreaths around the building’s numerous lampposts, and others attending to the monumental task of installing the Capitol Christmas tree.
The tree will eventually be decked out with over 35,000 lights, and ceremonially illuminated during the annual tree-lighting ceremony with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. But the process of installing the tree takes a coordinated effort from a number of Santa’s helpers — along with more than a few hardworking Georgians.
This year’s tree, which is sitting in the rotunda at the state Capitol, measures a whopping 26 feet tall. According to the Georgia Building Authority, it is an eastern red cedar that was donated by a resident of Lindale, which sits about 60 miles northwest of Atlanta.
Taylor Willingham, a chief ranger at the Georgia Forestry Commission, has helped with the process of transporting the Capitol Christmas tree for the past several years. He said harvesting the tree is typically a three-hour process that begins early in the morning and requires the combined efforts of the Georgia Forestry Commission, the Georgia Building Authority and Georgia State Patrol.
The process, he said, “is fairly intricate, because you definitely want to deliver a beautiful Christmas tree for everyone to see.”
Once the chosen tree is loaded onto a truck from the Georgia Forestry Commission, it begins the long journey to the heart of Atlanta, with members of the Georgia State Patrol leading the way and the Georgia Building Authority bringing up the rear. This part of the trip, Willingham said, can be precarious at times.
“You have to be extra careful with the tree so it doesn’t catch on signs or anything as you travel,” he said.
But it is also among the most memorable parts of each year’s sojourn to the Capitol, as Georgia residents get the chance to catch glimpses of the tree’s journey.
“You can see the excitement in people’s eyes,” Willingham said. “You can see how people just light up when they realize what’s going on.”
Workers use a crane to lift the tree inside the building, then stand it upright and secure it to the third floor balconies.
A tree lighting ceremony will be held in December, though the exact date has not yet been announced.
Chuck Berry, the owner of Berry’s Tree Farm and the president of the Georgia Christmas Tree Association, said a Georgia-grown red cedar is a natural choice for a place like the state Capitol.
“To me, the red cedar is a traditional Christmas tree,” he said. “It’s what most people, years ago, grew up with.”
However, he added, commercial Christmas tree farms tend to favor faster-growing cypress trees over cedars, so Georgia residents may be unlikely to find one at their nearest tree farm.
For families who are shopping for a tree this year, the Georgia Department of Agriculture recently published a map of Georgia-grown Christmas trees that includes nearly 100 farms across the state.
“The advantage of a Christmas tree farm is you actually get to know when [the tree] was cut, so there’s no question as to how fresh it is,” Berry said. “Most Christmas tree farms in the state now offer activities for families and children, so you’re not necessarily just getting a Christmas tree, you’re actually building memories.”
