Christmas tree farmers across Massachusetts had their own kind of Black Friday this year. On Nov. 28, Governor Maura Healey dubbed the day “Green Friday,” a push to kick off the holiday season while spotlighting the state’s Christmas tree and nursery industries.

While shoppers elsewhere woke before dawn to map out traffic-free routes, scour deals, and stack lawn chairs in car trunks to claim a place in line, farmers were already in the thick of a different kind of rush — one that had been years in the making.

The Christmas tree season, after all, begins long before the holidays arrive. For Meagan MacNeill, the new co-owner of River Wind Tree Farm in Lancaster, this year marked her very first season in the business. And as it turned out, she was unprepared, she said.

Customers began gathering at 9 a.m., an hour before opening, eager to flood the fields and begin their search for the perfect tree. It was all-hands on deck for the MacNeills; Meagan assembled both her immediate and extended family to help out.

The season began and closed in a flash. They sold out of cut-your-own trees the very next day, on Saturday, Nov. 29, and of pre-cut trees two weekends later.

The one word Meagan used to describe the season? “Insanity,” she said without missing a beat.

“I think it’s a new Olympic sport, getting the biggest and best Christmas tree,” she added with a laugh.

The challenges

The MacNeills are one of 459 Christmas tree farms across the state, which operate on nearly 3,000 acres of land and contribute more than $4.5 million to the local economy every year.

Like MacNeill, many farmers sold out of trees quicker this year than in years past (particularly since before the pandemic), according to David Morin, the communications liaison and former president of the Massachusetts Christmas Tree Association. He also owns Arrowhead Acres in Uxbridge, a Christmas tree farm and wedding venue.

Pre-pandemic, he was open for four weekends: Thanksgiving weekend, plus the three following it. He doubled his sales in 2020 during the pandemic. Now, he’s struggling to meet demand with a lower inventory.

“I was lucky to make it through two weekends. I actually shut down early on the second weekend because I didn’t have enough trees,” he said. 

It’s not just that individual farms are struggling to meet demand, but that the number of farms nationally are dwindling. Between 2002 and 2022, the number of farms growing Christmas trees fell by nearly 30%, down from more than 13,600 to about 10,000, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation, an agricultural organization.

Why are there fewer farms? Illan Kessler, who operates North Pole Xmas Trees, a wholesale grower in Colebrook, New Hampshire and choose-and-cut Noel’s Tree Farm in Litchfield, attributed the decline to farmers aging out of the industry. This, coupled with a lack of interest from the next generation to continue the business, means fewer farms.

“They get older, and then no one takes over, so there’s less and less tree farms,” he said.

It takes between seven and 10 years to grow a Christmas tree. Farmers are competing not just with national chains like Home Depot or Walmart — which “are super-influencers when it comes to price,” Kessler said — but also with artificial Christmas tree suppliers. 

“The artificial Christmas tree companies make so much revenue that they have a marketing budget that eclipses — at a magnitude of thousands-to-one — what real Christmas tree growers have to promote and market their own products,” Kessler added.

Prices of trees have gone up this year compared to last too, driven by inflation and tariffs along with a dwindling labor force and increasing costs of seedlings and machinery, Kessler and Morin said.

Morin likened being a Christmas tree farmer to a “love-hate” relationship. 

“The week after you’ve sold the trees, you’re in love with them. But for the other 11 months of the year, if it isn’t gypsy moths or caterpillars or one kind of a bug or another, or lack of rain or too much rain, it’s a constant hassle,” he said.

But despite it all, they wouldn’t give it up for the world.

“It’s like a Hallmark movie,” said Kessler. “We love selling Christmas trees, and we are super grateful to be in this business. I feel so blessed. I love what I do,” he added.

Joy to the world

Meagan and Steven MacNeill had dreamed of owning a Christmas tree farm in Vermont when they were newlyweds, but life got in the way. Before becoming farmers, Meagan worked as a school counselor, and Steven worked as a pharmacist — a job he still holds full time, she said.

“I knew, for me in particular, the traditional kind of 9-to-5 job didn’t feel right,” she said. She started working at a garden center and volunteering at an alpaca farm in Harvard on Sundays to satisfy the itch to be outdoors working in nature. Her husband later joined her at the alpaca farm, and it became their Sunday morning tradition for almost two years.

The couple bought River Wind Tree Farm in June from the Wareck family, fulfilling their two-decades-old dream to be Christmas tree farmers. 

But it wasn’t the fairy tale they had dreamed it to be. From learning to identify the farm’s many tree varieties — including exotic Christmas trees such as Nordmann fir, Korean balsam, and noble fir — to navigating drought and pest pressures, the experience was as much a challenge as it was a labor of love for the MacNeill family.

“The way the season looked was kind of a crapshoot because we had no idea what we were doing,” Meagan laughed. “It’s been a big learning curve for us. We still have a ton to learn.”

The MacNeills plan on adding alpacas to the farm next year, and are getting creative on keeping revenue flowing outside of the Christmas tree season by holding photoshoots at the farm.

Despite the arduous work, whirlwind season, years of preparation, and fierce competition, Meagan is grateful to be in the industry — and she’s not looking back.

For many Christmas tree farmers, herself included, the pull is hard to define. It’s rooted in community, tradition, and the simple joy of bringing people together for the holidays.

“It’s the joy of people coming to pick out their Christmas tree, and even having my family be a part of it,” Meagan said. “People coming out and just connecting to the land for a little while, or being with their family, and having these traditions that are not centered around electronics, but just being present. It’s so special.”

A federal appeals court has ruled officials in Nashua, N.H., engaged in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination when they denied requests to fly certain politically charged flags, while allowing others, on the city’s “citizen flag pole.”

Bethany and Stephen Scaer, whose requests to hoist banners with the slogans “Save Women’s Sports” and “An Appeal to Heaven” were rejected, teamed up with the Institute for Free Speech and filed a lawsuit in 2024 alleging their First Amendment rights were violated.

The trial court in New Hampshire initially concluded the Scaers hadn’t demonstrated a likelihood that their case would succeed, since the flags approved for display at City Hall constitute government speech. But three judges on the First Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision Monday, finding that the flagpole in question had actually been a venue for private speech all along.

The case relates to one Boston lost in 2022, when the US Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the city had unconstitutionally rejected an application to fly a Christian flag.

Even though Nashua sought to clarify its policy in response to that 2022 precedent, the city’s process for deciding which flags from the general public would be allowed still didn’t convert private speech into government speech, according to the First Circuit ruling.

“Nashua was doing no more than simply approving that private speech with which it agreed,” Judge Sandra L. Lynch wrote in the ruling, joined by judges Gustavo A. Gelpí and Jeffrey R. Howard.

In a statement, Beth Scaer said the ruling offers a sense of vindication.

“No one should have to face government censorship for expressing their beliefs,” she said. “We’re thrilled with this victory for free speech rights throughout New England.”

Nathan Ristuccia, an attorney with the Institute for Free Speech who argued the case on appeal, said his team is delighted by the ruling.

“As the First Circuit recognized, governments cannot get away with censorship by labeling that censorship ‘government speech,’” Ristuccia said.

Before the lawsuit was filed, Nashua Mayor James W. Donchess said the city declined to fly the “Save Women’s Sports” flag because officials interpreted it as implying transgender people should face discrimination.

The Scaers, who regularly demonstrate against gender-affirming medical interventions for minors and against inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s and girls’ sports, rejected the notion that their messaging is transphobic.

As for the “Appeal to Heaven” flag, which features a pine tree, Donchess said city officials want to avoid endorsing the additional meaning it has taken on in recent years.

The banner emerged during the American Revolution, with a nod to the Pine Tree Riot in New Hampshire, an act of American resistance that preceded the Boston Tea Party. More recently, the flag has also been used by Christian nationalists, including some who carried it to the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when a violent mob delayed the certification of President Trump’s 2020 electoral defeat.

In her application to raise the “Appeal to Heaven” flag, Beth Scaer said she wanted to honor the soldiers from Nashua who fought and died at the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775. She and her husband said their request has nothing to do with the Capitol riot.

Nashua has also declined to fly several other flags since the 2022 policy update, including a “pro-life” flag and a Palestinian flag, according to the lawsuit.

Nashua’s attorney, Steven A. Bolton, said on Tuesday that the city has not yet determined whether to file an appeal. He noted that the appellate ruling calls for the trial court to grant interim declaratory relief while the case proceeds.

Bolton said the city has stopped inviting community members to fly their own flags.

“A new policy was adopted more than a year ago, and we no longer use the term ‘citizen’s flag pole,’” he said. “We no longer accept applications from other parties to fly flags on any of the poles on the City Hall grounds.”

Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.

Emotional Stakes

Beyond the lineup, the Devils know the emotional stakes of the night are real. A three day break follows, and the difference between going into it with a win or a loss can linger.

“We’ve got three days to think about this game,” defenseman Brenden Dillon said. “A win, you’re in good spirits. A loss, you’re wanting the next game to come right away. With how things have gone the last couple weeks, we’re trying to build momentum, and if we have a slip up, we want to fix it right away and not let it snowball.”

Dillon was quick to stress that recent returns to the lineup do not change the responsibility of the group as a whole.

“The three guys aren’t going to win the hockey game for us,” he said. “They’re three really important players and we want them in the lineup, but at the end of the day it’s a team game. We have to go out there and earn the two points.”

Stopping Barzal

That mindset mirrors Keefe’s own message. With the Islanders featuring dynamic players like Barzal, discipline and structure will be essential.

“Top players like that play a little bit outside the structure,” Keefe said. “They play on instincts, and it can be hard to predict. For us, it’s trying to keep the puck out of his hands, and if he gets it, protect the good ice, put him into bad spots, and outnumber him. You also have to be aware of the people away from him because he’s so good at drawing coverage and moving it.”

Keefe noted the Devils see similar challenges daily in practice.

“We have guys like Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt who play very similarly,” he said. “So we talk about it often when we’re playing against top guys like that.”

Rest Over Practice

As the season’s pace has taken its toll, the upcoming break is welcomed. Keefe acknowledged the grind, especially with the injuries New Jersey has navigated.

“It’s been a condensed schedule and it adds up,” he said. “We’ve asked a lot of guys to play big minutes. We’ve practiced very little this season, the least I ever have as a coach, because you’re opting for rest to keep guys fresh.”

For Brown, the objective is simple.

“At this point it’s pretty clear what the performance needs to look like and what our identity needs to look like,” he said. “It’s just important getting into it right away.”

Dillon framed it in even more direct terms.

“They’re a team we’re going to be battling with all the way to the end,” he said. “It’s a good test. We have to want it more tonight and earn our break.”