Imagine a similar task on a much larger scale. You are standing in snow at some National Forest. The United States Forest Service is supervising. There are some other personnel from various Federal law enforcement agencies. A 60 or 70 foot Spruce, or Douglas Fir has been selected out from among other candidates.
Instead of falling it like a practiced logger, the logging company, the excavation company, the trucking company as a team—have all together-carefully cut the tree. Then without injuring any of the branches it is carefully lifted by cranes into a large cradling apparatus. It is lifted onto a special truck designed to carry just that tree. A large rubber skirt like thing wraps the root of the tree. It will be fed sixty gallons or more of water a day.
The truck carrying the tree will visit a nearby city for the main cutting ceremony. Afterwards, there is a song and celebration, and then it will visit other towns and cities in that state. Finally, it begins a long journey to our nation’s capitol, where it will become our Capitol Christmas Tree, sitting near the Capitol dome where it will have an even larger audience—the entire nation.
In late November, just after Thanksgiving, a similar scene will unfold at the Stanislaus National Forest where the Capitol Christmas Tree will be cut. Because it is in the forest, a larger ceremony will be held in nearby Sonora, California.
State government workers will make speeches, the song chosen as the anthem for this year’s celebration will be performed. Thousands of handmade ornaments that have been coming in from all over the State will be loaded into a second semi to capacity. A large batch of smaller trees will also be sent from the people of the State of California to Washington DC along with the larger tree itself. The smaller trees will adorn offices in the DC area.
The larger tree will be this year’s Capitol Christmas Tree—a gift to the nation that embodies this year’s theme-”California Shines”.