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candles to a tree.
Walking toward his
home one
w i n t e r
evening,
compos-
ing
a
sermon,
he was
awed by the brilliance of stars twin-
kling amidst evergreens. To recapture
the scene for his family, he erected a
tree in the main room and wired its
branches with lighted candles.
Who Brought Christmas Trees to
America?
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 Pennsyl-
vania German settlements had com-
munity trees as early as 1747. But,
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 Ameri-
ca. To the New England Puritans,
Christmas was sacred. The pil-
grims’s second governor, Wil-
liam Bradford, wrote that he
tried hard to stamp out “pa-
gan mockery” of the obser-
vance, penalizing any frivolity.
The influential Oliver Cromwell
preached against “the heathen
traditions” of Christmas car-
ols, decorated trees, and any
joyful expression that dese-
crated “that sacred event.”
In 1659, the General Court
of Massachusetts enacted a
law making any observance 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
German and Irish immigrants under-
mined the Puritan legacy.
In 1846, the popular royals, Queen
Victoria and her German Prince,
Albert, were sketched in the Illus-
trated London News standing with
their children around a Christmas
tree. Unlike the previous royal fam-
ily, Victoria was very popular with
her subjects, and what was done at
court immediately became fashion-
able—not only in Britain, but with
fashion-conscious East Coast Amer-
ican Society. The Christmas tree had
arrived.
By the 1890s Christmas ornaments
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 early 20th century saw Amer-
icans decorating their trees mainly
with homemade ornaments, while
the German-American sect contin-
ued to use apples, nuts, and marzipan
cookies. Popcorn joined in after be-
ing dyed bright colors and interlaced
with berries and nuts. Electricity
brought about Christmas lights, mak-
ing it possible for Christmas trees
to glow for days on end. With this,
Christmas trees began to appear in
town squares across the country and
having a Christmas tree in the home
became an American tradition.
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SEXY GLAM
MAGAZINE -
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