By Jackie Overom & Patti Smith
This time of year we enjoy some wonderful Holiday traditions here at Pahl’s Market. We love to share our fun with all the folks that walk through our doors during this festive season.
The market is stocked with all the beautiful Christmas décor and the excitement begins. We have several traditions we create each year for customers to take home. A favorite is our kissing balls. This lovely holiday decoration has a historical start in England. During the Middle Ages, villagers would wind together twine and evergreen branches into a ramshackle ball shape. In the center of this conglomeration of evergreen boughs they would place a clay figure of an infant to represent the baby Jesus. These “holy boughs”, as they were called, would be hung from the ceiling along passageways in castles and big houses to render blessings and good luck to all who passed under the bough and the holy infant. As the years of history went on, the kissing ball became a symbol of romance. Women would hang them outside their front door and if a handsome young man came along and kissed them under the decoration it was said they would marry within the year. Mistletoe was often added to the decoration and along came the tradition of hanging mistletoe hoping for a kiss. We make beautiful, fragrant kissing balls for you to hang outside your home as a welcome to all who visit during the Christmas season.
We also make our traditional spruce tip pots for you at Pahl’s each year. This year we have five beautiful designs for you to choose from as well as lovely custom designs. Spruce tips are white or black Spruce that are harvested in the bogs of the “Northwoods” of Minnesota. They are a regenerative crop that can be harvested again and again. The tree tips, though quite small, have the form and foliage of the more mature trees, often bearing tiny cones. The evergreens are placed in pots and decorated to make a beautiful decoration by your front door. This custom is truly a Minnesota tradition because the spruce tips are harvested here.
We hope you will also enjoy coming to Pahl’s and shopping for a beautiful fresh Christmas tree. Many families make their tree shopping trip the start of their Christmas traditions.
Our greenhouse is filled and bursting at the seams with a wide selection of fresh evergreen trees. The National Christmas Tree Association reports that millions of U.S. families plan to focus their holiday traditions around a real Christmas tree. Our most popular varieties are the Fraser Fir and Balsam Fir. But don’t pass by the Grand Fir or Noble Fir, they are stunning trees. Also in our assortment are the Canaan Fir, Blue Spruce, Scotch Pine, White Pine, and Concolor Fir.
The Fraser Fir has dark blue-green needles and has outstanding needle retention along with a wonderful fragrance. It is often referred to as the ‘Cadillac’ of Christmas trees. A well cared for Fraser Christmas tree can last 4-6 weeks. The Balsam Fir is very aromatic and will permeate your home with evergreen delight. You will think that you have walked into a Vermont forest. It is what we all think of as “the smell of Christmas”. Many people refer to the Balsam as a traditional Christmas tree. It takes 9-10 years in the field to produce a 6-7’ tree.
We love to see families come back each year to choose just the perfect tree. It is an honor to be a part of our customers holiday traditions.
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