May 1st is a holiday here (and a lot of other places that aren't the USA). One of the local traditions is that people will cut down a birch tree (or a good fraction of one) , decorate it with ribbons and a sign with the name of their beloved and install it in front of that person's house. My German teacher says that most years the men do this for the women, but it should be reversed this year because it's a leap year. Of course, I took pictures.
Most of the trees had women's names on them, so I don't know if that leap thing is real. Here's a tree, but I was too far away to see the name on it.
This one's a little cheat, but it's for "Richard." 
And the "Lisa" tree. 
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
May Day
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
So it's like Valentine's day, except that you use trees instead of roses?
Kinda cute
Eugene - I guess so. I forgot that one of the best parts is seeing people tote around these giant trees (a 25 foot tree strapped on top of a tiny car, 5-6 people carrying one tree down the street).
Not that roses are much better, but it seems to be saying less of "I love you" and more of "I hate birch trees."
The potted one is a nice touch though...
Doug - I've been told that they use birch trees because they grow back fast. So, on one hand, no killing of trees. On the other hand, I also heard that people surreptitiously cut down the birches, maybe where it's prohibited.
Post a Comment