Tinsel or no tinsel? Christmas tree decorating past and present

Walking into this year's Christmas tree exhibitat theLefurgeyCultural Centre inSummersideis like walking through a winter wonderland without the cold.

There are more than 30 trees decked out theway they would have been through history.

It's the third year forthe Magic of Christmas at Wyatt Heritage Properties: Christmas Trees Though the Agesexhibit.

Marlene Campbellis the cultural programming co-ordinator for CultureSummerside.

"We start right at the very beginning with the whole history of the Christmas tree and the God tree and St. Boniface, who used the fir tree to explain the Trinity. And the first tree was actually hung upside down and then we come all the way through time, right until 2022," she said.

"Every decade depicts what the fashion was in that time and what was going on in the world. For example, the '30s and '40stree is very, very simple compared to the 1920s because of course we were in theDepression and then the Second World War. So you you learn kind of the whole timeline of history as you come through the exhibit."

Campbell saidpeople love the nostalgia of looking at Christmas trees they may have had when they were younger.

She says the number of visitors to the exhibitjust keeps growing.

"Ithink people are enjoying learning why we do the things we do and have no idea why we're doing them, where it all began."

Regardless of how you feel about tinsel, there's plenty of it in this exhibition as well as information about its history in tree decorating.

"For example, it was first silver, but then it would tarnish and not have the colour. Then they got into lead tinsel and found that was very dangerous," Campbell said.

"And then the white tree in the '70s, oh, the Charlie Brown, how he brings people back from using artificial trees to coming back to real."

Campbell saidthey add to the exhibit each year. This year's additions include a rainbow tree.

"I guess it's around the whole idea of acknowledging diversity. And we saw one in the store and we said, 'OK, we have tobring that in and add it to the collection this year' because it is part of what is happening out in the worldand that's what the whole exhibit is about, is reflecting what is going on in the world."

Shelley Campbell ofTyneValley is the creative mastermind who decorates the trees. As for all those lights, balls and other decorations?

"We're very, very conscious about environmental issues. So like we do a lot of second-hand buying, donations, scouting things out," Marlene Campbell said.

The exhibit will continue until Dec.17. For more information, you can visit CultureSummerside'sFacebook page.