A memorial Christmas tree honoring our military now graces a Franklin Township cemetery.

Union Hill Cemetery recently purchased the tree from Walker’s Tree Farm in Lehighton, according to Travis Nothstein, president of Union Hill Cemetery Association.

Nothstein said the tree was donated by one of the cemetery’s association members, and it was erected at the military memorial medallion site at the flagpole in the center of the cemetery.

“We all chipped together,” Nothstein said. “The purpose is people can come up here if they have lost a relative and hang a picture or a note; put their own touch on the tree.”

Nothstein said the cemetery association decided it wanted to try something different and call it a memorial tree.

“It will be lit at night with solar energized Christmas bulbs, and it is there for anyone that wants to hang a memorial decoration on it for their lost loved ones that are no longer with them on earth,” he said. “It will also have snacks on it for the birds and chipmunks that will be looking for food this time of year before the winter cold sets in.”