If you're celebrating Christmas this holiday season, imagine one without any twinkling lights, candles in the windows or fresh pine smell of a real tree.

For apartment dwellers in Virginia, this may be a reality, but students and residents living in State College don't have to worry about that this holiday season.

A new fire code enacted in Virginia in October affects holiday decorations in certain apartments and condominiums. In many complexes without sprinkler systems, decorating with fresh evergreens is now a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in prison or a $2,500 fine.

Students living in residence halls on campus are limited in the types of decorations they may use, like some residents in Virginia.

Steve Triebold, university fire protection engineer, said live Christmas trees are prohibited in university buildings.

"We want people to enjoy the holidays, but we want to make sure they have a safe holiday and safe work environment," Triebold said.

Jason Schwier (senior-computer engineering) said he thinks regulations on Christmas decorations, like the one in Virginia, are somewhat discriminatory.

"I would say that anything could be considered a fire hazard. What about Thanksgiving decorations with a lot of paper or birthday cakes with a lot of candles?" he said.

Shawn Kauffman, fire inspector with Centre Region Code Administration, said the code adopted in the Centre County area prohibits Christmas decorations in hazardous locations. This is most often decided on a case-by-case basis.

"Typically we try to educate the public on what a hazard is and then they understand," he said.

Common hazards include candles in dangerous locations or dried-out trees.

Kauffman added that some landlords may work clauses into their leases prohibiting certain types of decorations, but he isn't aware of any specific clauses like that in State College.

"Incidents of safety [problems] here are few and far between, but it's obviously a problem across the United States that it has drawn attention and is a concern," Kauffman said.

Each year, Christmas trees are involved in more than 400 residential fires, resulting in almost 40 deaths, according to the National Safety Council.

The Office of Residence Life displays fliers on campus outlining decorating guidelines for residence halls. Penn State's Office of Environmental Health and Safety also has regulations for putting up holiday trees in university buildings.

Triebold said the most common decorations across campus are artificial trees and strings of lights.

"We ask that students and faculty with these types of decorations make sure they are tested and work properly and are placed in safe locations," he said.

Triebold added that using common sense is important.

Schwier recommended not going overboard with outside decorations and not putting them where they will get in people's way.

Rachel Hubbard (senior-civil engineering) said decorations aren't important to the actual meaning of Christmas, but that it puts people into the spirit of the season.

"I think Christmas and decorations are so commercialized and some people get carried away," Hubbard said.

Hubbard said she doesn't leave lights on for extended periods of time unattended and eliminates clutter around heat sources.

Taryn Bird (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said she doesn't plug too many things into one socket.

She decorates her room with a small artificial tree and lights, but would be very disappointed if she couldn't have a real tree at home, Bird said. "Even the smell of a tree is just holiday. And if you didn't have a tree, where would you put the presents?"