MONTREAL -- Most years people just get rid of their old Christmas trees, but this isn’t most years.
Montrealers who live near Jarry Park, north of downtown, were asked instead to bring their old trees, stripped of decorations, to the big park last weekend and leave them there in an “ephemeral forest.”
They were also asked to hang a written wish on a branch.
If nothing else, it was something to do, said the Friends of Jarry Park group in their callout.
“It's an activity to stretch your legs, to air out your spirit, to visit our white/green space and to share a wish for the park,” they wrote on Facebook.
And this week, other people showed up, finding themselves surprisingly emotional about the wishes people left—everything from a dream of new playground equipment to being able to just hug a friend again.
“It's quite emotional to see other people wishing the same [thing] that you're wishing in silence,” said one person who visited the “forest” this week, Francois Trudel De Gagné
Watch the video above to see scenes from the “ephemeral forest.”
