Claymont Christmas Weed, a 30-year Delaware tradition, is celebrated at Saturday parade

The words "Christmas Weed" these days might mean something a little different than they did 30 years ago.

But back in 1993, because of a resilient little fir growing in a crack in a highway, a very goofy Delaware holiday tradition began in Claymont and it endures to this day.

There's even a well-attended Christmas parade, which started in 1998 and steps off this Saturday at 10 a.m. in Claymont, that's built around the tradition.

And a song. And a fable.

The backstory on the Claymont Christmas Weed

It all started on a slow news day on Dec. 16, 1993, a little more than a week before Christmas.

The late News Journal photographer Donaghey G. Brown snapped some sweet photos of a wild fir tree growing from a crack in Philadelphia Pike near the I-495 exit in Claymont.

The scraggly little thing was decorated with ornaments and gold garland, apparently by passing motorists or local residents.

One of the photos ran on the front page of The News Journal on Dec. 17, 1993, and a cheeky copy editor (and were there ever any other kind?) slapped on a headline: "O Christmas Weed." 

In the news business, this is known as a "bright," a short, amusing story intended to delight newspaper readers as they sip their coffee.

That morning a lot of eyes saw Brown's uplifting photo, but apparently, not everyone found the humor.

The Delaware Department of Transportation, in particular, viewed the weed as a traffic hazard, not a holiday symbol. Cue the bah-humbugs.

In the interest of public safety, though some have described it as the ultimate Scrooge-y move, DelDOT, that same morning, chopped down "the weed." 

A Yuletide throwdown began

Another tree went up, but, a short time later, it was stolen. And it happened again. And again.

Eight trees later, The News Journal, with the help of a local security company, stepped in and then-Executive Editor John N. Walston hired a guard to watch over "the weed" until Christmas Day.  

Really. It should be noted, this was back in the day when newspapers were a lot more flush.

And just to put even more nutty icing on the fruitcake, former reporter/editor Al Mascitti wrote a fable called "The Christmas Weed," which appeared in The News Journal on Dec. 25, 1993.

Several readers wrote Letters to the Editor saying how much they enjoyed Mascitti's tale.

The 'Weed' today

The wacky Christmas Weed tradition continues and Barbara Harbin said she is not at all surprised. 

"We say it represents Claymont. We're not pretty, but we're plucky. We are resilient and we keep coming back," she told Delaware Online/The News Journal in 2018.

The Claymont Christmas parade steps off at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, and runs along the Philadelphia Pike from Maple Lane Elementary to Darley Road. It concludes at noon.

The weed will be blessed and decorated at the Church of the Ascension at 3717 Philadelphia Pike, immediately after the parade. It is then placed on Philadelphia Pike.

Harbin, who had organized the parade and weed decorating since 2004, said in 2018 that no one tries to steal the weed anymore. 

"It's famous now. It's so famous, people come from out of state to see it. Even DelDOT leaves it alone," she said.

Still, just in case anyone has sticky fingers or unkind intentions, there's a little added insurance so the weed stays put.

"We ziplock it to the post that's at the median," Harbin said.

The "weed" today remains true to its original roots. It's scrawny and about 4 feet tall, though Harbin admits "it doesn't look a whole lot like the first one."

"A couple of years back, we went out and dug it out of the woods. We used to do that every year, " Harbin said "but I got tired of tromping through the woods in the snow and rain."

Harbin said she made an executive decision in 2016: "I decided we're going to plant this sucker. I dug a hole in my yard and planted it. I just dig it up now and put it in a bucket every year. In January, I'll put it back in the hole." 

Contact Patricia Talorico at ptalorico@delawareonline.com or 302-324-2861 and follow her on X (Twitter) @pattytalorico Sign up for her Delaware Eats newsletter.