The Christmas tree has a long history so of course a lot of interesting  things have accumilated about it. Here are some trivia tidbits about the Christmas tree for you.

Evergreens were once thought to have magical powers.

Evergreens are a symbol of life.

Using Evergreens to celebrate the winter holidays started centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ.

The first electrically lit Christmas tree was invented by Edward Johnson, an assistant of Thomas Edison in 1882.

Edison General Electric Company made the first mass produced Christmas lights for sale in 1901.

The best smelling Christmas trees are Balsam Firs.

A large part of the world’s Christmas trees are grown in the US Northwest with over 112,000 acres are planted with 11,000,000 trees. They are shipped to other areas such as Samoa, Puerto Rico, Japan, Mexico, Guam, Homg Kong, China and of course all over the US.

Even though all 50 US states grow Christmas trees, the top producing states are California, Oregon, Illinois, Michigan, Washington, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina.

Between 30-35 million live trees are sold in the US each year.

Nova Scotia also exports millions of Christmas trees.

Most trees now a days are topped with an Angel or Star. In earlier centuries it was a small doll of the Baby Jesus that topped trees.

In earlier centuries, Christmas trees were decorated with candles, paper ribbons, paper or fabric roses, gilded nuts, and apples.

It takes 7-10 years before a Christmas tree is ready to be harvested.

Every time a Christmas tree is harvested, 2 to 3 seedlings are planted.

Approximately 73 million Christmas trees will be planted this year.

Some people believe it’s bad luck to put your tree up before December 1st.

January 6th is the official end to the Christmas holiday and all trees should be taken down by then. Of course in the US, most people take down their Christmas decorations on New Years Day.

A favorite decoration among people in the Ukraine, is having a spider ornament hanging from your tree. It’s believed that finding a spider web on your tree Christmas morning will bring your household good luck.

One acre of growing Christmas trees will provide oxygen for 18 humans every day!

One of the “warmest” National Christmas tree lightings happened on December 13, 1984 when temperatures were well in the 70s.

Christmas trees started to make an appearance in large department stores around 1900.

Westminster England receives a Christmas tree from the people of Oslo, Norway every year since 1947 as a thank you for Britain’s role in helping Norway during WWII.

93% of live, cut Christmas trees are recycled and there are over 4,000 recycling programs for Christmas trees in the US.

Most live Christmas trees are already cut for the consumer. Only 16% are the “Cut your own” variety.

Which is better? A live tree or artificial? A live tree is a living thing that dies for our enjoyment but an artificial tree will last for centuries in the landfills. It does have an average use of 6 years before it is thrown away.

21% of US homes had a real tree in 2002 and 48% had a fake tree. The rest had no tree at all.

Don’t burn your Christmas tree in the fireplace due to creosote buildup.

The National Christmas tree was not lit in 1963 until December 22nd due to the 30 day mourning of the death of President Kennedy.

Christmas trees need a lot of water. During the first week, a tree in your home “drinks” about a quart of water a day.

The National Tree Lighting Ceremony was started in 1923 by President Coolidge.

Set Of 3 Pre-Lit Downswept Alpine Artificial Christmas Trees 3′ 4′ 5′

Tinsel is beautiful but used to be quite dangerous as it was made of lead. It was banned by the government until a safer alternative made of plastic was available.

Less than 1/10th of residential fires are cause by Christmas trees.

Christmas trees help the economy. Over 100,000 are employed in the Christmas tree industry.

The first community Christmas tree was put up in New York City in 1912.

Woodinville Washington’s claim to fame is that they have the tallest living Christmas tree at 122 feet. It’s old too at 91 years and is a Douglas fir. Out of every 2,000 trees planted, only 1,000-1,500 will survive. The survival rate goes down the further north you go. It can go as low as 750 in the North.

In 1979, due to the hostage situation in Iran, only the top ornament of the National Christmas tree was lit.

You can have your real Christmas tree shipped to you. About 175,000 are sold through the internet or mail order catalogs.

The average price of a Christmas tree in 2007 was $41.50.

Christmas trees can be recycled by being put in ponds for a shelter for fish. They also make great soil and sand erosion barriers.

Christmas trees can help us breathe better by removing pollen and dust from the air.

Helicopters are used to help lift cut trees from Christmas tree farms.

8.5′ Full Tiffany Fir Pre-Lit Artificial Christmas Tree – Multi Lights

The ancient Egyptians were not the only ones who celebrated with trees. The Druids, Chinese and Romans all celebrated Winter Solstice and kept trees in their houses during this time. Often, they decorated the trees with apples, candles and exchanged gifts. Even the early Scandinavians paid homage to the fir tree. Very similar to our modern Christmas isn’t it?

10′ Downswept Douglas Fir Pre-Lit PE Artificial Christmas Tree – Multi Lights
8.5′ Downswept Douglas Fir Pre-Lit PE Artificial Christmas Tree – Multi Lights

It is said that St Boniface, who lived from 672-754 AD, cut down the oak tree of Thor in the German town of Geismar. He did it as a sign of disapproval of the locals belief in the Norse gods. After cutting down the oak, he saw a fir tree growing from the roots of the old oak. He took this as a sign from God and said, “Let Christ be at the center of your households.” Thus the fir tree became a symbol of Christianity.

7.5′ Flocked Hunter Fir Pre-Lit Artificial Christmas Tree – Clear Lights

The first recorded use of Christmas trees was around 1441 in what is now called Estonia. It was then part of Northern Germany. The Brotherhood of the Blackheads would put a tree up for the holidays. The last night of the celebration, the tree was taken to Town Hall Square where the men of the Brotherhood would dance around it.

9′ Blue/Green Just Cut Natural Frasier Pre-Lit Artificial Christmas Tree – Clear

Nearby, in Lavia it was recorded in 1510 that the local merchants would decorate a tree with artificial roses (they symbolized the Virgin Mary), dance around the tree and set fire to it.

GKI Bethlehem Lighting Baby Pine Blue Full 4-1/2-Foot Christmas Tree Prelit with Clear

It is said that Martin Luther really started the tradition of decorated Christmas tress around 1500. He was walking at night through a forest and came upon a group of small evergreens. They looked so beautiful with the snow glistening on the branches in the moonlight that he decided to set up his own little fir tree in his house so he could share his story with his kids. He decorated the tree with candles as a symbol of Christ’s birth.

4.5′ Pre-Lit Full Douglas Fir Artificial Christmas Tree – Multi Lights

There are also reports that Scandinavians and Germans would erect evergreens either right outside their front doors or in their houses. They did this during the late Middle Ages during the winters as a symbol of hope for the coming Spring.

By the 1600s, Germans would decorate their Christmas trees with apples. This is believed to come from earlier centuries when Miracle Plays were held in churches on December 24th. December 24th was known then as Adam and Eve’s day and the plays were a way of teaching Bible stories to the people. They would hang apples on evergreen boughs during the plays.

By the 1700s, the tradition of the Christmas tree was quite popular among the protestants in Germany and France. They mostly used candles and apples to decorate it but as time went on, they added wafers, gilded nuts, a red paper strips.

It is believed that Christmas trees were introduced to America by the Hession troops during the American Revolution and with German immigrants who settled in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Windsor Locks Connecticut has claimed the first Christmas tree in the Unites States was erected there in 1777 by a Hession soldier who was in prison at the Noden-Reed House.

Of course there is also the legend that a Christmas tree helped Washington in1776. Hessian mercenaries abandoned their posts to celebrate with food and drink around a Christmas tree lit by candles. It gave Washington a chance to attack that night and defeat them.

Even though the Christmas tree was introduced to the United States in the 1700s, it took awhile for the tradition to catch on. Puritans banned Christmas in the New England states.

By 1851 a Catskill farmer named Mark Carr sold two sleds full of evergreens to the folks in New York City.

The first Christmas tree appeared in the White House in 1853.

By 1883, Sears started selling artificial Christmas tees and in the late 1800′s glass Christmas balls became the fad in America.

The Christmas tree was introduced to British royalty in the early 1800′s. By the mid 1800s the tradition had spread to most of the population in Britain.

In America, evergreens were becoming scarce in the early 1900s. Theodore Roosevelt tried to do-away with Christmas trees but it obviously did not work. Christmas tree farms started to spring up to help renew the country’s demand for the holiday trees. Between 25-30 million trees are sold each year in the US, and most of them come from Christmas tree farms. 90 percent of Christmas trees are Scotch Pine, Douglas Fir, Noble Fir, Balsam Fir, White Spruce, and White Pine.

Christmas trees were banned in Russia after the October Revolution but made a reappearance in 1935 as the New Year Fir Tree.

Today, in many areas, Christmas trees are a tradition for towns and are often the center of special events. Oslo, Norway presents a tree every year to Trafalgar Square, London as a gift of appreciation for the help Great Britain gave to the Norwegian Resistance in World War 2.

Norway also gives a Christmas tree to Washington D.C. as a symbol of friendship and gratitude for the help the US gave Norway during World War 2.

The National Christmas Tree is lit every year on the South Lawn at the White House in the US. This has become quite an event for the nation. It originated in 1923 when Calvin Coolidge was in office. The first tree was donated by Middlebury College in Vermont.

The Christmas tree does have quite a history that has spanned many centuries. It is now a well loved world wide tradition among those of us who celebrate Christmas. Here’s to many more years of celebrating Christmas with our beloved Christmas Tree!

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