Michigan’s 2013 Christmas Tree is Lit and Ready

What tree was chosen for Michigan’s Christmas tree this year?

Do you know how many trees have been chosen from the Upper Peninsula?

Michigan’s 2013 Christmas tree has been chosen, delivered to the state capital and is now decorated and lit. Michigan is a state full of evergreen trees and for the last 28 Christmases, trees have been chosen to represent the state. This year the tree that was chosen was a 71-foot blue spruce.

The 71-Foot Blue Spruce

The 71-foot blue spruce traveled 460 miles to the state capital a few weeks ago. The tree was donated by John and Barbara Waara of Iron River, Michigan. If you haven’t heard of Iron River, that may be because it is located in the Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Nineteen Trees Chosen From the Upper Peninsula

The 2013 blue spruce isn’t the first tree to be chosen from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Out of the 28 trees chosen for the last 28 Christmases, 19 of those have been from the Upper Peninsula. According to MLive, Steve Doty, a supervisor for the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, has supervised the installation of 12 of those 29 Christmas trees. Doty explained that the process never gets old. He stated,

There was a lot of excitement on the drive in. People were waving and taking pictures and stuff like that. It’s really cool. You could see them drive by and slow down.”

The debut of this year’s towering spruce in Lansing took place on November 22. Last weekend was the 29th annual Silver Bells in Lansing. Around 4,500 – 5,000 LED lights were strung around the 71-foot tree. The tree shines with reds, blues, whites, yellows and greens and heralds in the coming holiday season.

Will you chose a live blue spruce for your Christmas tree this year as well? Please make sure to come back on Monday when we review our Christmas Tree Tips.