A holiday for trees
Arbor Day
Whoever heard of a holiday for trees? You have—if you’ve heard of
Arbor Day. Arbor is another word for tree. On Arbor Day, many
people—especially schoolchildren—plant trees.
Most states in the United States, and most of the provinces in Canada,
celebrate Arbor Day. Many other countries also have days or weeks for
planting trees.
The first Arbor Day in the United States was on April 10, 1872, in
Nebraska. It was the idea of J. Sterling Morton. Morton, a newspaperman,
knew how important trees are to the land. Trees enrich the soil and help
to keep water on it. The state offered prizes to the groups and people
who planted the most trees. On that first Arbor Day, Nebraskans planted
more than a million trees.
After Morton died, Nebraska changed the date of Arbor Day to his
birthday, April 22. California celebrates Arbor Day on March 7, the
birthday of Luther Burbank. The people in California honor Burbank
because he developed many new kinds of trees and plants, such as the
Santa Rosa plum, the Burbank potato, and the Shasta daisy.
The people of Israel also have an arbor day. It is in the spring and is
called Tu B’Shebat [(too]{.smallcaps} buh shuh [vat),]{.smallcaps}
which means “the fifteenth day (of the Hebrew month) of Shebat.” This
day is also known as the New Year for Trees.
