North Carolina Icons: Fraser Firs

Fraser Firs are our featured North Carolina icon today. They’re number 61 on Our State magazine’s list of 100 North Carolina icons. They write: “Make this the year you cut your own Christmas tree. Visit ncchristmastrees.com to search for farms around the state.” The Fraser Fir is the official Christmas Tree of North Carolina. The North Carolina State library has more information on Fraser Firs on their website.

Today we have two books related to Fraser Firs. Farm Fresh North Carolina: The Go-To Guide to Great Farmers’ Markets, Farm Stands, Farms, Apple Orchards, U-Picks, Kids’ Activities, Lodging, Dining, Choose-and-Cut Christmas Trees, Vineyards and Wineries, and More by Diane Daniel can help you pick out your own local Christmas tree—as well as many other local farm activities. In A Foxfire Christmas: Appalachian Memories and Traditions you can learn about the traditions of Appalachian Christmas celebrations and how to recreate them yourself.

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In the first statewide guidebook of its kind, Farm Fresh North Carolina takes readers on a lively tour of more than 425 farms, produce stands, farmers’ markets, wineries, children-friendly pumpkin patches and corn mazes, pick-your-own orchards, restaurants, bed and breakfasts, agricultural festivals, and more, all open to the public and personally vetted by travel writer Diane Daniel. Daniel’s animated, knowledgeable recommendations will give food lovers, families, locals, and travelers the inspiration and resources they need to cut a fresh Christmas tree, pick a peck of apples, take a fall hay ride, sample wine from locally harvested grapes, or spend the night on a working farm. Sidebars offer information about the state’s agricultural history, politics, and eccentricities, while twenty recipes gathered from North Carolina farmers, innkeepers, and chefs provide delicious ways to use the day’s pickings.

A Foxfire Christmas: Appalachian Memories and Traditions is a captivating book of recollections that celebrates the holiday traditions of Appalachian families as passed from one generation to the next. Based on Foxfire students’ interviews with neighbors and family members, the memories shared here are from a simpler time, when gifts were fewer but perhaps more precious, and holiday tables were laden with traditional favorites. More than just reminiscences, however, A Foxfire Christmas includes instructions for recreating many of the ornaments, toys, and recipes that make up so many family traditions, from Chicken and Dumplings to Black Walnut Cake, and from candy pulls to corn husk dolls and hand-whittled toy cars.

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Remember to check our NC Icons tag for more icon-related reading suggestions.