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The History of the
Christmas Tree |
Trees are very important to the American Christmas experience because a very long time ago the Christians decided that they needed a more aggressive recruiting technique to generate more Christians. During the early days of Christianity, while the faith was trying to spread from its base in the Mediterranean to the far reaches of Europe, the Christians noticed that it was easier to gain converts if they had holidays similar to those of the people they were trying to convert.
As missionaries wandered into the Pagan wildernesses (France and Germany) they found people who celebrated the winter solstice. These Pagans believed that as the days got shorter the sun was going away, and if it did not come back, all of humanity would die. So out into the forest they would go in search of the largest living things they could find. The largest living thing was an evergreen tree, proof that life still existed even in the dark of winter. In addition to the great tree, the celebration to bring back the sun involved getting as much light as possible. So, a large fire burned non-stop while torches lit the homes of the pagans, and the living evergreens were decorated with lights to lure the sun back into existence.
After the early Christians spread to Rome they adopted December 25th as Christmas day to increase the probability of converting the believers of Mithras, a god of soldiers, sailors, and merchants, who celebrated his birthday on the 25th of December. Therefore it was easy to show the natives to the north that they too had a winter solstice holiday. In an effort to be even more appealing to these Pagans, they to cut down large green trees and incorporated them into the worship of Christ.
By the Dark Ages Christianity was the prevailing religion in what had once been Pagan territory, but the celebration of Christ’s birth with large green pagan trees continued. It became a tradition that was passed from generation to generation, and over time when waves of Germanic Christians came across the ocean in search of a new life in a new land, it came too. The celebration of Christmas with trees spread to the new world, where many were happy to see this beautiful custom and adopt it as their own.
Christmas Tree Facts
German settlers migrated to Canada from the United States in the 1700's and they brought with them many of the things that we associate with Christmas today: Advent calendars, gingerbread houses, cookies--and Christmas trees.
When Queen Victoria's German husband, Prince Albert, put up a Christmas tree at Windsor Castle in 1848, the Christmas tree became a tradition throughout England, the United States, and Canada.
Christmas trees have been sold commercially in the United states since about 1850.
Between 1887-1933 a fishing schooner called the "Christmas Ship" would tie up at the Clark Street bridge and sell spruce trees from Michigan to Chicagoans.
Franklin Pierce, the 14th President, brought the Christmas tree tradition to the White House.
In 1912, the first community Christmas tree in the United States was erected in New York City.
In 1923, President Calvin Coolidge started the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony now held every year on the White House lawn.
The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree tradition began in 1933.
In 1963, the National Christmas Tree was not lit until December 22nd because of a national 30-day period of mourning following the assassination of President Kennedy.
Since 1966, the National Christmas Tree Association has given a Christmas tree to the President and first family.
In 1979, the National Christmas Tree was not lighted except for the top ornament. This was done in honor of the American hostages in Iran.
In 1984, the National Christmas Tree was lit on December 13th with temperatures in the 70's, making it one of the warmest tree lightings in history.
Thomas Edison's assistants came up with the idea of electric lights for Christmas trees.
Teddy Roosevelt banned the Christmas tree from the White House for environmental reasons.
Many Christmas traditions practiced around the world today started in Germany.
It has been long thought that Martin Luther began the tradition of bringing a fir tree into the home. According to one legend, late one evening Martin Luther was walking home through the woods and noticed how beautifully the stars shined through the trees. He wanted to share the beauty with his wife so he cut down a fir tree and took it home. Once inside he placed small lighted candles on the branches and said that it would be a symbol of the beautiful Christmas sky.
Another legend says that in the early sixteenth Century, people in Germany combined two customs that had been practiced in different countries around the globe. The Paradise tree (a fir tree decorated with apples) represented the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden. The Christmas Light, a small pyramid-like frame, usually decorated with glass balls and tinsel and with a candle on top, was a symbol of the birth of Christ as the Light of the World. Changing the tree's apples to tinsel balls and cookies; and combining this new tree with the Light placed on top, the Germans created the tree that many of us know now.
The tallest living Christmas tree is believed to be the 122-foot, 91-year-old Douglas fir in the town of Woodinville, Washington.
Other types of trees such as cherry and hawthorns were used as Christmas trees in the past.
Most Christmas trees are cut weeks before they get to a retail outlet.
Christmas trees generally take 6-8 years to mature.
100,000 people are employed in the Christmas tree industry in the United States.
98 percent of all Christmas trees are grown on farms.
More than 1,000,000 acres of land have been planted with Christmas trees.
77 million Christmas trees are planted each year.
On average, over 2,000 Christmas trees are planted per acre.
Thirty-four to thirty-six million Christmas trees are produced each year and 95 percent are shipped or sold directly from Christmas tree farms.
California, Oregon, Michigan, Washington, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and North Carolina are the top Christmas tree producing states.
The best selling trees are Scotch pine, Douglas Fir, Fraser Fir, Balsam Fir and White Pine.
In the first week, a tree in your home will consume as much as a quart of water per day.
Tinsel was once banned by the government. Tinsel contained lead at one time, now it's made of plastic.
You should never burn your Christmas tree in the fireplace. It can contribute to creosote buildup.
Today, the Tannenbaum (Christmas tree) is traditionally decorated in secret with lights, tinsel, and ornaments by the mother and is lit and revealed on Christmas Eve with cookies, nuts, and gifts under its branches.
Back to The Christmas Nook
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The Youth Online Club ©Shauna Lee De Feyter, 1997-2008 http://www.youthonline.ca/
