Many people still travel to Campo de San Francisco in Ponta Delgada in the Azores to buy the traditional Cryptomeria tree, which fills Christmas with its scent and rivals artificial trees.
Like pine, cryptomeria is more expensive than an artificial tree, but many Azoreans prefer to maintain the tradition and have a natural Christmas tree at home.
A Christmas tree seller of 50 years, Álvaro Oliveira, 63, born in Sete Cidades on the island of São Miguel, has witnessed this Azorean preference and says he has never missed a year of sales.
His eyes light up when he remembers the times when this emblematic square in Ponta Delgada, located next to the sanctuary of Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres, was surrounded by several hundred trees.
Alvaro Oliveira saw the cryptomeria business flourish, with “thousands of trees being sold” until artificial trees introduced a new paradigm.
But the sale of natural products continues, and the business promises to continue as it relies on the dedication of his son, who has been helping him since he was nine.
Alvaro Oliveira recalled that “in good times there were nine or ten places throughout the city of Ponta Delgada where trees were sold.”
“Many people still come here to buy a cryptomeria Christmas tree, the price of which starts at 25 euros and can reach 100 euros, depending on the piece,” he told Lusa, recalling a time when there were no canopies to protect against rain. , the wind and cold “slept among the trees.”
This Thursday they will spend the night in Campo San Francisco in shelters provided by the city council of Ponta Delgada and equipped with electricity.
The seller claims that “usually the same people search for a cryptomeria Christmas tree because they like a traditional Christmas.”
In addition to the tree, traditional Christmas lovers also buy moss, wood, decorated stones and bran (shredded wood dyed in different colors).
All of them are important ingredients of nativity scenes, combining clay dolls with typical Nativity figures such as the baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, as well as animals and wise men, as well as traditional figures depicting Azorean society from their social and cultural point of view.
The Evaristo Carvalho family also continued the tradition of selling cryptocurrency in the Campo de São Francisco at Christmas.
The seller, who was born in Sete Sidadis, told Lusa that the profit “doesn’t make up for the cold and the rain” but admitted the business was “in his blood”.
“If I take a holiday and work as a mason, it will work out better than now, but this business is in my blood and when it comes to December, Christmas is not the same without this presence,” said Evarishto Carvalho.
The seller admitted that this is also a “source of extra income during these difficult days” and always helps “buy a few more things for Christmas.”
Maria de Deus, originally from the northeast, is a regular visitor to the Campo San Francisco at Christmas because “it’s impossible to remember this time of year like the smell of the Cryptomeria tree.”
For João Carvalho, who also usually goes to the square to buy natural trees, in addition to fulfilling the Christmas tradition, it is “a way to provide financial assistance to the sellers” amid difficulties due to inflation and high fuel prices.
Until December 24th, hundreds of people will head to San Francisco Square in search of the Cryptomeria tree, hoping to brighten up their Christmas with the scent, but there are also those who go there because it is the “place” of Christmas.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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