A Short History of the Christmas Tree

Christmas tree, Yule tree or Tannenbaum (German: fir tree) is one of the most popular traditions associated with the celebration of Christmas.Some say that the tree represents the one whose wood was made into a cross and used to crucify Jesus of Nazareth. Others say that its origin goes back to the original Tree of Knowledge and that is why so many early decorations were apples. Those who point to the ancient Roman celebration of Saturnalia as a source for our contemporary trees note the evergreens were used as decoration during that long ago holiday that ended on December 25. The evergreen continues to weave its way through the history of Christmas trees. It is a symbol of the promise of life to come after months of cold winter.The modern custom of using a Christmas tree can be traced to 16th century Germany, though neither an inventor nor a single town can be identified as the sole origin for the tradition, which was a popular merging of older traditions mentioned above. In the Cathedral of Strasbourg in 1539, the church record mentions the up rise of a Christmas tree. In that period, the guilds started setting up Christmas trees in front of their guildhalls: A German professor of European ethnology found a chronicle of 1570 which reports how a small fir was decorated with apples, nuts, dates, pretzels and paper flowers, and erected in the guild-house, for the benefit of the guild members children, who collected these decorations on Christmas day. During the 17th century, the custom entered family homes.By the early 18th century, the custom had become common in towns of the upper Rhineland, but it had not yet spread to rural areas. Wax candles are attested from the late 18th century. The Christmas tree remained confined to the upper Rhineland for a relatively long time. It was regarded as a Protestant custom by the Catholic majority along the lower Rhine and was spread there only by Prussian officials who moved there in 1815.In the early 19th century, the custom became popular among the elite and spread to royal courts as far as Russia. A princess introduced the Christmas tree to Austria in 1816. In France, the first Christmas tree was introduced in 1840 by a Duchesse.Candle lights were added to Christmas trees as an attempt to further explain Christmas Ornaments history. Again, however, legend plays an important part in determining how generations of people either did, or didn't, light their trees. Martin Luther is said to have been the first to add lights to his tree in order to give his children a better understanding of the stars in the Heaven from which Jesus came. Whether true or not, it might help explain why, for decades, lighted Christmas trees were thought to be a part of the Protestant celebration of Christmas and thus were considerably less popular in Catholic homes and churches.Around the midpoint of the Nineteenth Century, in addition to candle lights - or not - decorations hanging from Christmas trees included miniature replicas of fruit, animals, toys, musical instruments and angels made primarily out of materials available in homes.By this time the idea of the Christmas tree had already made its way to Britain and in the United States immigrants from Germany had also introduced the idea of the Christmas tree as an integral part of their holiday festivities. Adoption in this country was extensive, aided perhaps by the publication of Kris Kringle's Christmas Tree in 1845.The first Christmas tree to appear in the White House was erected in 1856 by President Franklin Pierce. The first truly national Christmas tree was inaugurated by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913, but it was not until President Calvin Coolidge moved the tree to its present location near the White House - and ceremoniously switched on the newly installed electric lights - that the idea of an "official" tree took hold.Christmas trees were not limited to a place of honor in the home. Community trees not only became symbols of holiday spirit, but also served as the only source of a tree for the estimated eighty percent of Americans at the turn of the Twentieth Century who did not, or could not, have a tree in their homes.Today’s Christmas ornaments take many different forms, from a simple round ball to highly artistic designs. Baubles are another extremely common decoration, and usually consist of a fairly small hollow glass or plastic sphere coated with a thin metallic layer to make them reflective.Family collections of personalized Christmas ornaments often contain a combination of commercially produced ornaments and decorations created by family members. Such collections are often passed on and augmented from generation to generation.Today, besides mass-produced ornaments, there is a thriving market in handcrafted Christmas ornaments of every sort. These are typically sold at craft fairs, in craft shops and on the Internet.Individuals' decorations vary widely, typically being a collection of family traditions and personal tastes and preferences; even a small unattractive ornament, if passed down from a parent or grandparent, may come to carry considerable emotional value and be given pride of place on the tree.Each year, 33 to 36 million Christmas trees are produced in America, and 50 to 60 million are produced in Europe. In 1998, there were about 15,000 growers in America (a third of them "choose and cut" farms). In that same year, it was estimated that Americans spent $1.5 billion on Christmas trees.