Delivering Enchantment

The U.S. Capitol Christmas tree is from northern New Mexico this year. A 60 foot blue spruce was cut from the national forest just north of here, near Taos, earlier this month. It is in a huge truck now being shipped cross country, with stops all along its route to promote the Land of Enchantment.

I wrote previously about how New Mexico is often an unknown blank on the map to many people in the rest of the country. But the Christmas tree and its trip east is some recognition the state is getting this holiday season.

At the first stops in New Mexico, including here in Santa Fe as it started its journey, people added comments to a message banner on the back of the truck. The truck plans to make dozens of stops on its way east, and educate people about a state where 60 foot trees grow in wild mountain forests and the people are friendly.

And 10,000 ornaments hand made by New Mexicans are going with it too, shipped east to Washington.

There was some controversy this fall -- there is a ban on tree harvesting in the state. No tree cutting is allowed at all, we have no lumber industry, and the only tree cutting that can be done is for firewood. So a legal exception had to be granted and it was.

The truckers who drive the big tree 1,800 miles east do this on a completely volunteer basis. It's a huge honor for a local New Mexico trucking company (and good publicity of course).

The tree is on its way. In a free ceremony open to the public and a welcome respite from other things going on in that place at this time in history, the Speaker of the House will light the tree on December 4 at 5 p.m.

Turn off your political news and turn on the lighting ceremony event, and thank New Mexico for the sparkling show of enchantment we all need right now.