"Now, some of the top lobster-fishing ports in New England are claiming bragging rights about who has the biggest and best Christmas tree created from lobster traps. As the holiday season gets into full swing, a new lobster trap tree in eastern Maine is stirring the pot," the NBC News said.

"Gloucester, Mass., started the trap-to-tree tradition 12 years ago, and Rockland, Maine, followed five years later. Both are threatening to be upstaged this year by the small lobstering town of Beals, Maine, which is getting into the act with a monster tree that stands 50 feet tall.

"The tree in Beals helps raises money for the Beals-Jonesport Fourth of July festivities and the one in Gloucester benefits a nonprofit devoted to the arts. In Rockland, the tree is major fundraiser for Rockland Maine Street Inc., a nonprofit that oversees the tree and sells $50 raffle tickets for a chance to win 100 traps."

"The tiny towns of Beals and Jonesport, Me., have completed their second annual holiday display: a conical tower of 1,364 lobster traps, 60 feet tall, built to withstand the powerful winds that come off the water. It is the towns’ Christmas tree, made of wire traps plucked from the sea by lobstermen who lend them to the cause," The New York Times says.

"Shimmering with thousands of lights and topped with an American flag and a cross made of buoys to honor a fallen fisherman, the lobster trap tree is one of many that materialize this time of year in fishing towns along New England’s northern coast, a descendant of smaller trees that have long adorned lobstermen’s yards and ports. Festive monuments of engineering and local pride, they celebrate the season, affirm the local economy and guarantee bragging rights for the towns.

"The tree is made from red and green traps custom-built by Stephen Brooks, a third-generation trap maker. They are structurally reinforced, corresponding with a top-secret engineering plan the city uses to build a hollow, free-standing tree, 38 feet tall. “You can put extra bracing in certain areas of the trap to help with the strength,” Mr. Brooks said."

"Lobster traps, also known as lobster pots, are ubiquitous around the coastal towns of New England. Around this time of year, Christmas trees built from stacked lobster pots rise in many towns along the coast," the Old Salt Blog says.



"With fishermen being fishermen, a friendly competition between the communities has broken out over who has the best, most attractive or tallest lobster trap tree.

"This year, Beals, just across Moosabec Reach from Jonesport,Maine appears to have the tallest trap tree, topping out at 60 feet. Rockland’s tree is only 30 feet tall but is decorated with garlands and lobster pot buoys. It was also featured on the Discovery Channel’s “Extreme Christmas Trees.” See the trailer below for a glimpse of Rockland’s lobster trap tree."

"Lobster fishermen in eastern Maine say they have erected what they claim is the world's largest Christmas tree made out of lobster traps," the Seacoastonline.com says.

"A dozen lobstermen on Beals Island spent more than a week erecting a tree-shaped pile of 769 traps that stands 50 feet tall and is adorned with lights and lobster buoys as ornaments. More than 400 people gathered Sunday night as the tree was lit up.

"Organizer Buddy Mills told the Bangor Daily News that he doesn't know of a bigger lobster trap tree. By comparison, he said a trap tree in Rockland is only 35 feet high with 152 traps, and that another one in Gloucester, Mass., also falls short."

"The tiny towns of Beals and Jonesport, Me., have completed their second annual holiday display: a conical tower of 1,364 lobster traps, 60 feet tall, built to withstand the powerful winds that come off the water. It is the towns’ Christmas tree, made of wire traps plucked from the sea by lobstermen who lend them to the cause," the BlueRidgeNow.com says.

"Shimmering with thousands of lights and topped with an American flag and a cross made of buoys to honor a fallen fisherman, the lobster trap tree is one of many that materialize this time of year in fishing towns along New England’s northern coast, a descendant of smaller trees that have long adorned lobstermen’s yards and ports. Festive monuments of engineering and local pride, they celebrate the season, affirm the local economy and guarantee bragging rights for the towns.

"Gloucester is believed to have started the tradition of the large lobster trap tree when it built its first one in 2001. Janice Lufkin Shea, who was a Gloucester shopkeeper at the time, was frustrated that Main Street had no holiday display. She saw a tiny lobster trap tree in someone’s yard and thought a bigger version would be perfect for downtown."

"The residents of Jonesport and Beals Island, Maine, are putting up a giant Christmas tree of sorts. Their tree is actually made of stacks of lobster traps," the NPR says.

"There are no hackerspaces on Beals Island, Maine but that hasn't stopped residents from tinkering with a holiday institution - the Christmas tree. And when it's lit tonight, the community will marvel at their Tannenbaum made from lobster traps.

"And we have between 15 and 20 lobster boats they're going to deck out in Christmas lights and they'll sail out through the body of water between Beals Island and Jonesport. And they go up one side and make a big circle on the other end and come back down through the bridge."

"To make this year’s 60-foot-tall lobster trap tree, the residents of Beals Island and Jonesport, Maine, gathered, stacked, and rigged with lights an astounding number of lobster traps – 1,364 used lobster traps," the Unconsumption says.

"Other towns, including Gloucester and Rockland, whose tree is pictured below, have built their own “trees,” though some use new lobster traps or crates. [Side note: Rockland’s tree is listed on Foursquare with its own check-in spot."