Christmas Tree Choose and Cut Ashe County NC : Christmas Tree Choose and Cut season Ashe County NC 2021 for the West Jefferson and NC Mountain High Country Fraser Fir

Florence Thomas Art School in West Jefferson : West Jefferson’s Florence Thomas Art School carries on the legacy of one of Ashe County’s most talented artists. "The mountains are calling and I must go." (John Muir)

Choosing an Ashe County, NC Christmas Tree  History of the Christmas tree dates far back, before our traditional concepts of Christmas. The Christmas tree and its evergreen boughs is one of the few symbols of hope and continued life that has carried on from the ancients.  It has a heritage that extends to the Pagans, the ancient Celts, even the earliest Romans all of whom used the sacred boughs as a sign to mark the winter solstice. The winter solstice marks the longest night and the shortest day of year in the Northern Hemisphere and generally falls on the 21st or 22nd of December.  For the ancient Pagans, winter solstice marked the period when the sun god, weakened by the fall, would begin to get well with the promise of a return to spring and a strong summer.  For the ancient Celts, Druid Priests would mark their temples with boughs from evergreens as a sign of everlasting life.  Even Vikings regarded the trees as Balder, the sun god’s plant and would cut them down

Does Christmas Begin in Ashe County? : Information on Ashe County's "Choose and Cut" and where you can find your Christmas Tree. "The mountains are calling and I must go." (John Muir)

Overlooking the town of West Jefferson  "The mountains are calling and I must go." (John Muir) As summer ends, and we begin our celebrations of autumn. This is an photo of summer taken from one of our favorite location, atop Mount Jefferson State Park. The views from Mount Jefferson's summit are  spectacular in any season.  From the summit you are standing at 4,995 feet above sea level and on a clear day you look into Tennessee and Virginia, as far as the eyes can see. Mount Jefferson has over 1,000 acres of natural woodlands, hiking trails, picnic areas, guided tours, bird watching, backpacking, or a favorite to many is spending an afternoon lounging on a rock outcropping  reading and enjoying the cool mountain breezes.  The park has easy access to the top, and overlooks the town of West Jefferson, Jefferson and the many small villages found in Ashe County. Come spend the day exploring the park, touring art galleries while visiting Historic West Jefferson,

Historic West Jefferson, NC has Friendly People and Notable Talent.