Douglas Fir: Tree of Strength
Symbolic of "Past & Future"

This enduring tree which is even older than Christianity and not attached exclusively to any one religion - remains a firmly established part of our holiday customs, engaging not only our senses of sight, touch and smell but also our sense of tradition. The tree evokes a mood of holidays from long ago, of the genial ghost of Christmas Past. 

Northwest Native Americans have a history of making uses of grand fir foliage and branches. Kwakwaka'wakw shamans wove its branches into headdresses and costumes and used the branches for scrubbing individuals in purification rites. The Hesquiat tribes used its branches as incense and decorative clothing for wolf dancers, its roots for basket weaving and the twigs for arrow shafts. Douglas-fir boughs were frequently used for covering the floors of lodges and sweat lodges and the needles used to make a tea high in vitamin C.