No more Christmas trees on graves at Riverside National Cemetery

Riverside National Cemetery is enforcing a longstanding policy this holiday season for the first time — the military cemetery is prohibiting Christmas trees at gravesites.

So far cemetery groundskeepers have plucked about two dozen live and artificial Christmas trees from gravesites.

Cemetery spokesman Jim Reuster described the trees. “From about 18 inches to 3 feet. There’s a Douglas fir that’s almost 5 feet.”

Reuster says the decorating got a little out of hand. “One of our people was helping somebody put a wreath on a grave and they encountered these people who had a cut tree, and they were going to dig a hole into the gravesite and stick the tree into the hole.”

And last weekend, crews removed a 3-foot tree. "That had battery packs on it to operate Christmas lights.”

Riverside National Cemetery used to allow Christmas trees, but this year it’s enforcing an eight-year federal policy that prohibits them. The about-face comes as part of an effort to preserve the dignity of the military cemetery. That means only fresh-cut flowers, wreaths and other modest holiday decorations at gravesides.

Reuster says there’s been some grumbling from cemetery visitors who say officials should have done more to notify them in advance. But he says there have also been messages of support. “From veterans who say, ‘This is a military cemetery. It should be kept in military order.’ You know, they understand what uniformity means and the importance of it in a place like this.”

Cemetery personnel will preserve living trees removed from gravesites so relatives and friends that brought them in can retrieve them. Riverside National Cemetery will remain open from sunrise to sunset through Christmas weekend.