They’ve become a tradition every holiday season along the Jersey Shore. Christmas trees can be seen dotting local beaches with decorated shells bearing handwritten messages of comfort around the trees in the sand and hung from branches. It’s something that started as a personal tribute t o Matt DeChristopher’s mother Roseann after the mother of eight passed away in 2022. “She loved Ocean City,” DeChristopher said. “This was always our spot, so we decided to put it here.” New Jersey Dec 20, 2024 Christmas trees on beaches in Jersey Shore town spread holiday cheer, goodwill New Jersey Nov 29, 2022 Christmas Trees on the Beach in Ocean City Spread Holiday Cheer New Jersey Dec 1, 2021 Christmas Trees on NJ Beaches Spread Holiday Joy, Again Now, every holiday since his family has planted a memorial tree on Ocean City’s 34th Street Beach and have made it a place where others are invited to honor the people they miss. “It’s just gotten bigger and bigger,” DeChristopher explained. “It’s never good losing someone, but if we can remember the good times that we had with them, kind of makes it all a little better.” Over the past several years, Christmas trees have found a place on the sand in a growing number of shore towns and many have specific themes. Ocean City, New Jersey, has close to a dozen. The 59th Street tree is rooted in a tradition of helping the hungry by collecting non-perishable items for two local food pantries. This year, organizers really ramped up their outreach on social media about the food drive and the community has stepped up in a big way “Close to 1000 pounds so far,” Wendy Smith said. “I think people are very aware of the need.” ...read more read less