Christmas tree
A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, either real or artificial, that symbolizes the celebration of the Christian holiday Christmas on December 25. The tradition of using Christmas trees has roots in pre-Christian pagan practices, with the first notable adaptations emerging in Europe during the sixteenth century. The custom gained momentum, especially after the British royal family popularized it during Queen Victoria's reign in the 19th century. Initially, decorated trees were a rarity in North America, with the earliest instances appearing in the mid-18th century. Over time, various types of evergreens, such as firs and pines, became the most commonly used trees for this purpose.
The practice of adding lights to the Christmas tree is often attributed to the Protestant reformer Martin Luther, though widespread usage of electric lights became common much later. The emergence of artificial Christmas trees in the late 1800s provided an alternative to live trees, with origins linked to German craftsmanship. Today, Christmas trees are a central feature of the holiday season for many families around the world, intertwining cultural and religious meanings while also serving as a focal point for festive gatherings.
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Christmas tree
A Christmas tree is a real or an artificial tree or representation of a tree often decorated and lit to celebrate the Christian holiday Christmas on December 25. The earliest Christmas trees are believed to have been an adaptation of pagan practices that began before the start of Christianity. Once the Christmas tree custom began in Europe in the sixteenth century, it spread around the world. In modern times, the Christmas tree has become associated with the secular celebration of the Christmas holiday.
Background
The ancient Romans were known to use trees decorated with silver ornaments during a winter festival. Ancient people across Europe brought evergreen branches into their homes in winter as a symbol of fertility and the renewal of life during the cold, dark days of the winter season. As Christian missionaries arrived to spread the faith, they likened these symbols to the renewal Christians found in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Sometimes the trees were left undecorated, while other times they were decorated with natural items, such as apples or sprigs of holly.
Sixteenth-century German Protestant reformer Martin Luther is often credited as the first to add lights—in the form of candles—to a Christmas tree. According to legend, Luther was walking outside on a starlit night and was so impressed by the sight of the stars shining through a canopy of evergreens that he lit a tree inside the house to share his experience with his family. The first good evidence of people decorating a Christmas tree with lights, however, comes from about a century after Luther's death.
Overview
Reports of decorated Christmas trees—sometimes hung upside down from the ceiling—were found throughout Europe from the sixteenth century to the nineteenth century. Christmas trees grew in popularity after the British royal family began decorating their homes with them during the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901.
The earliest North American colonists did not celebrate Christmas, and Christmas trees did not become popular among Americans until the eighteenth century. Some of the earliest Christmas trees, which appeared in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 1747, were wooden pyramids decorated with evergreen branches and candles. The popularity of Christmas trees grew after German Hessians decorated them during the American Revolution (1775–1783). Indoor Christmas trees achieved more widespread popularity in America in the 1850s when a businessman named Mark Carr opened New York City's first tree lot in 1851 and sold trees brought down from the Catskill Mountains.
Most live Christmas trees are firs, such as the Fraser, Douglas, or Balsam; pines, such as the white or Scotch; or spruces, such as the Norway or Colorado blue. In some areas of the world, cypress or cedar trees are used. About 350 million Christmas trees are growing in the United States at any one time, and between 25 and 30 million live trees are sold each Christmas season.
Artificial trees first came into use in Europe during the late 1800s. Like live trees, artificial trees have strong ties to Germany, where wooden tree frames filled in with green-dyed feathers were used. In the 1930s, the Addis Toilet Brush Company made the first plastic artificial tree from surplus toilet brushes.
Bibliography
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"Christmas Trees & More." University of Illinois Extension, extension.illinois.edu/trees/traditions.cfm. Accessed 14 Feb. 2017.
"Christmas Tree Boss Denounces 'Toilet Brush' Artificial Versions." The Telegraph, 30 Nov. 2008, www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3536806/Christmas-tree-boss-denounces-toilet-brush-artificial-versions.html. Accessed 14 Feb. 2017.
"Education." National Christmas Tree Association,www.realchristmastrees.org/dnn/Education. Accessed 14 Feb. 2017.
Farmer, Jacqueline. O Christmas Tree: Its History and Holiday Traditions. Charlesbridge, 2010.
"History of Christmas Trees." History.com, www.history.com/topics/christmas/history-of-christmas-trees. Accessed 14 Feb. 2017.
Travers, Penny. "The Christmas Tree: From Pagan Origins and Christian Symbolism to Secular Status." Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 18 Dec. 2016, www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-19/the-history-of-the-christmas-tree/8106078. Accessed 14 Feb. 2017.
Woodruff Tait, Edwin and Jennifer. "Why Do We Have Christmas Trees?" Christianity Today, Dec. 2008, www.christianitytoday.com/history/2008/december/why-do-we-have-christmas-trees.html. Accessed 14 Feb. 2017.