The Story of Christmas Tree

 

The Christmas tree is also a tree, but is a decorated one that is typically an evergreen conifer, like the spruce, fir or pine, or the artificial tree of the same appearance, related to the observance of Christmas, started from the Northern Europe. A tree was traditionally ornamented with "roses made from wafers, tinsel, sweetmeats, colored paper, and apples.

Progress of Christmas Trees

1510 – The first ever written record of the decorated Christmas Trees came from Riga, Latvia. The men from the native merchants’ guild ornamented the tree with the artificial roses, danced just about it in the marketplace, and set flames with it. This rose was utilized for many years and has been considered as the symbol for our Virgin Mary.

1530 – It had the record from France in Alsace that the trees advertised in the market and was taken home and then set up undecorated. The laws limited a size until “8 shoe lengths” (a bit more than 4 feet).

1600 – It was ordinary in Germany to ornament Christmas Trees with an apple. This custom was a holdover which was from 14th to 15th centuries when the evergreen boughs dangle with apples were its only prop being used during the “miracle plays” which were executed at churches on 24th of December. December 24 was called as Day of Adam & Eve during the calendar of early Christian, and those plays were utilized as the ways of instructing the Bible to the bigger illiterate population.

1700 – In some parts of Germany and Austria, evergreen tips had been brought into the houses and dangled top down from a ceiling. They were usually ornamented with red paper strips, apples, and gilded nuts. Edible decorations became so famous on Christmas Trees which they were usually named as “sugar trees.” The first ever accounts by utilizing lighted candles as ornaments on Christmas Trees came during the 18th century from France.

1851 – Christmas Tree starts to become sold commercially in United States. They had been taken by chance from the forest.

1853 – Franklin Pierce had been credited with taking in the first ever Christmas Tree into the White House.

1883 – Sears, Roebuck and Company started offering the first ever artificial Christmas tree.

1800s – The Christmas Trees was launched in United States by the German settlers. It quickly grew from the tabletop size going to the floor up-to-the-ceiling. The first ever glass decorations were introduced to the United States, and again from Germany. It first ones were usually balls, then, it became chains of balls, figures and toys became more common.

1900s – Because of overharvesting, the normal supply of evergreens started to become decimated. Conservationists were alarmed, and lots of magazines started to encourage the people to alternate an artificial “snow” roofed tree, consisting of the branches of a deciduous tree wrapped in yarn or cotton.

1901 – The original Christmas Tree farm had started in 1901 during the planting of W.V. McGalliard with 25,000 Norway spruce at his ranch in New Jersey. Theodore Roosevelt attempted to halt the practice of owning Christmas Trees since he was concerned about the forest destruction. His two sons did not agree and then enlisted the assistance of Gifford Pinchot, a conservationist to convince the president that, the practice wasn’t damaging to the forests because it is done properly.

1930 – Pres. Franklin Roosevelt began the Christmas Treefarm at his estate at Hyde Park, in New York.

1966 – The Association of National Christmas Tree started its time-honored customs of having a Grand Champion grower presented the Christmas Tree to a First Lady for exhibit in a Blue Room of a White House. During that year, Mr. Howard Pierce of the Black River Falls, from Wisconsin, presented the tree to Pres. Lyndon Johnson and their First Lady Bird Johnson.

Now – About 25-30 million Christmas Trees from real tress are being sold yearly in many places like Ireland. Almost all of those trees came from the Christmas Trees farms.