Holidays – Hanover – Good Christmas tree business with a long Advent season – Panorama
Hanover (dpa / lni) – The sale of Christmas trees is off to a good start this year. At the beginning of December, 15 percent of the 27 million natural Christmas trees coming from Germany had already been sold, said the head of the state association of Christmas tree and greenery producers, Bernd Oelkers, the German Press Agency. This is now also the case with about 15 percent of the approximately 4.5 million trees from Lower Saxony. “We are amazed that so many are already there,” said Oelkers about his customers.
The Advent season is particularly long this year. Since Christmas Eve falls on a Saturday and the fourth day of Advent is always the Sunday before Christmas Day, the last day of Advent is one week earlier – to December 18th. The first Advent was therefore already on November 27th this year. This extends the time until Christmas Eve to 28 days – the longest Advent season possible.
As a result of the extended festive phase, many households have storage problems, explained Oelkers. “The tree then has to stand for a very long time and be cared for for a long time.” Some customers already have an idea: A tree will be bought for the beginning of Advent, one for Christmas itself. The tree for the festival is fresh and well cared for. Oelkers estimates that the peak of sales is yet to come. “In recent years, it’s been around the third Advent where the run has been the biggest.” Up to 30 percent of the trees would then be sold in just one weekend.
“That also gives courage for the entire business,” said Oelkers. He has the impression that due to the pandemic, many families attach great importance to the Christmas spirit and celebrating together – a demand that around 400 companies with a total of 4,000 to 5,000 hectares of planted area wanted to meet in Lower Saxony.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:221204-99-772157/2