Locked down Greek fir tree farmers wait for Christmas miracle

Locked down by coronavirus at their busiest time of year, fir tree farmers in Greece are hoping for a Christmas miracle to salvage a season all but lost.

A nationwide lockdown has meant thousands of Christmas trees may not get to market in time in a blow to farmers in an area of northern Greece where fir tree sales are their only livelihood.

"It will be a huge catastrophe," said Christos Bitsios, a fir farmer in Taxiarchis, a mountainous village in Greece's Halkidiki region.

Greece has extended to December 7 a nationwide lockdown it imposed in November, its second since the coronavirus pandemic began, after a surge in Covid-19 cases. Northern Greece has been hit the hardest by the pandemic.

This time last year, Christmas trees were up for sale, Bitsios said. The annual crop requires up to 15 years of labor and the trees must be cut annually or they dry...