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MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2012
ing mysterious winter solstice rituals.
The Druids used holly and mistletoe
as symbols of eternal life, and place
evergreen branches over doors to keep
away evil spirits.
The fierce Vikings in Scandinavia
thought that evergreens were the spe-
cial plant of the sun god, Balder.
Late in the Middle Ages, Germans and
Scandinavians placed evergreen trees
inside their homes or just outside their
doors to show their hope in the forth-
coming spring. Our modern Christmas
tree evolved from these early traditions.
Until about 1700, the use of Christmas
trees appears to have been confined to
the Rhine River District. From 1700 on,
when lights were accepted as part of
the decorations, the Christmas tree was
well on its way to becoming a tradition
in Germany. Then the tradition crossed
the Atlantic with the Hessian soldiers.
Germany is credited with starting the
Christmas tree tradition, as we now
know it in the 16th century when de-
vout Christians brought decorated trees
into their homes. Some built Christmas
pyramids of wood and decorated them
with evergreens and candles if wood
was scarce. It is a widely held belief
that Martin Luther, the 16th-century
Protestant reformer, first added lighted
candles to a tree. Walking toward his
home one winter evening, composing a
sermon, he was awed by the brilliance
of stars twinkling amidst evergreens. To
recapture the scene for his family, he
erected a tree in the main room and
wired its branches with lighted candles.
Most 19th-century Americans found
Christmas trees an oddity. The first
record of one being on display was
in the 1830s by the German settlers of
Pennsylvania, although trees had been
a tradition in many German homes
much earlier. The Pennsylvania German
settlements had community trees as
early as 1747. However, as late as the
1840s Christmas trees were seen as
pagan symbols and not accepted by
most Americans.
It is not surprising that, like many other
festive Christmas customs, the tree was
adopted so late in America. To the
New England Puritans, Christmas was
sacred. The pilgrim’s second governor,
William Bradford, wrote that he tried
hard to stamp out “pagan mockery”
of the observance, penalizing any
frivolity. The influential Oliver Cromwell
preached against “the heathen tradi-
tions” of Christmas carols, decorated
trees, and any joyful expression that
desecrated “that sacred event.” In
1659, the General Court of Massachu-
setts enacted a law making any obser-
vance of December 25 (other than a
church service) a penal offense; people
were fined for hanging decorations.
That stern solemnity continued until the
19th century, when the influx of Ger-
man and Irish immigrants undermined
the Puritan legacy.
In 1846, the popular royals, Queen
Victoria and her German Prince,
Albert, were sketched in the Illustrated
London News standing with their
children around a Christmas tree.
Unlike the previous royal family,
Victoria was very popular with
her subjects, and what was
done at court immediately
became fashionable—not
only in Britain, but with
fashion-conscious East
Coast American Society.
The Christmas tree had
arrived.
By the 1890s,
Christmas orna-
ments were
arriving from
Germany and
Christmas tree
popularity was on
the rise around
the U.S. It was
noted that
Europeans
used small
trees about
four feet in
height, while
Americans
liked their
Christmas
trees to reach from floor to ceiling.
The Christmas tree market was born in
1851 when Catskill farmer Mark Carr
hauled two ox sleds of evergreens into
New York City and sold them all. By
1900, one in five American families
had a Christmas tree, and 20 years
later, the custom was nearly universal.
Christmas tree farms sprang up during
the depression. Nurserymen could not
sell their evergreens for landscaping,
so they cut them for Christmas trees.
Cultivated trees were preferred because
they have more symmetrical shape then
wild ones.
The early 20th century saw Ameri-
cans decorating their trees mainly
with homemade ornaments, while the
German-American sect continued to
use apples, nuts, and marzipan cook-
ies. Popcorn joined in after being dyed
bright colors and interlaced with
berries and nuts. Electricity brought
about Christmas lights, making it
possible for Christmas trees to glow
for days on end. With this, Christ-
mas trees began to appear in
town squares across the coun-
try and having a Christmas
tree in the home became
an American tradition.
Six species account for
about 90 percent of
the nation’s Christ-
mas tree trade.
Scotch pine ranks
first, comprising
about 40 percent
of the market,
followed
by Douglas fir
which accounts
for about 35
percent. The
other big
sellers are
noble fir,
white pine,
balsam
fir and
white
spruce.
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