Towards the end of the XIXth century, the fashion for small trees placed on tables gave way to one of large-scale trees
because of the arrival on the market of the first metal tree stands. The working classes replaced these expensive stands
by two crossed wooden boards nailed together or by a pail filled with earth in which the tree was planted.
The tradition of the natural Christmas tree is still very much alive. Balsam tree farming is expanding rapidly in Canada.
Each year, more than a million of these trees are cut and tens of thousands are exported to the United States, Mexico,
Venezuela and even as far away as Germany.
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