The Origin of the Christmas Tree

We enjoying seeing families gather around Christmas trees, dogs and cats sit under their branches (sometimes with some extra drama).  Christmas is good public relations for trees because their scent, beauty, and majesty play a huge role in holiday memory-making.

So, where did the Christmas Tree tradition begin and how did it become what it is today?  Here is an historical timeline from the National Christmas Tree Association:

• 1500s: The first written record of a decorated tree comes from Riga, Latvia. Men of the local merchants’ guild decorated a tree with roses, considered to be a symbol of the Virgin Mary.
  
  
• 1600’s: It became common to decorate Christmas Trees with apples in Germany.
  
  
• 1700’s: In parts of Austria and Germany, evergreen tips were brought into the home and hung top down from the ceiling. They were often decorated with apples, gilded nuts, and red paper strips. These edible ornaments became so popular on Christmas Trees that they were often called “sugar trees.”
  
  
• 1800’s: The Christmas Tree was introduced in the United States by German settlers. It rapidly grew from tabletop size to floor-to-ceiling. 

Lighting Tradition. According to the National Christmas Tree Association, lighted candles on Christmas Trees began in France in the 18th Century. However, others report that the origins are associated with Protestant Christian Reformer Martin Luther, who is said to have first added lighted candles to an evergreen tree in the 16th century.

Thomas Edison's friend and partner in the Edison Illumination Company, Edward Johnson, is credited with putting together the first string of Christmas Tree lights in 1882. Lights were first mass-produced in 1890. In 1900, large stores began to light big Christmas Trees and in 1933, the tradition of the lighted tree in New York City’s Rockefeller Center began.

Recycle Your Tree!  Christmas Trees began to be sold commercially in the U.S. 1851. Today, approximately 25-30 million real Christmas Trees are sold in the U.S. each year! So it is a valuable thing for you to recycle your tree.  Here are a few helpful tips from Earth 911 to guarantee your Christmas tree doesn’t end up in a landfill:

• Strip It First.  A tree is only recyclable in its organic and original form.  In other words, remove all the lights, ornaments, and tinsel.  A “flocked” tree, in which the tree is spray-painted white to look like snow, cannot be recycled and will automatically end up in a landfill.  
  
  
• Compost/Mulch It: The value of recycling Christmas trees is that they are considered organic waste, which means they can be composted or mulched.  In cities such as New York, Denver, and Austin, Christmas trees are mulched, and the remaining material is made available to the public free of charge. Your community may also offer the tree mulch to residents, saving you money on garden supplies in the spring.    Check with your city or county for details.
  
  Whether it’s with the woodchips or needles, mulch is a great way to keep your yard trees healthy and moist during the cold winter season. Pine needles are full of nutrients that enhance the PH of your soil if its more alkaline and allow your soil to breathe without becoming dense and compacted.  Be sure to douse your pine needles with water and mix well in your compost pile.
  
  
• Insulate Your Garden Beds.  Evergreens can easily be used to protect your garden beds from the cold. The boughs will protect your plants from winter freezes and spring thaws. By laying them out in landscape beds, plants have a more steady temperature during the winter.  The limbs also work well as a garden edge.
  
  
• Chop it into firewood and kindling. A standard noble fir tree can be turned into more than 13 pounds of firewood to keep you warm this winter. Just make sure you give it plenty of time to dry first (six months to a year, depending on climate) so that it burns cleaner.
  
  
• Make your own coasters. If you’re ready to get crafty, shake off the needles into your yard to use as mulch, then cut the trunk into rustic coasters.  Be sure to let the tree completely dry before cutting, or they will split.   

Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, we hope you enjoy the beauty and majesty of evergreen trees outdoors throughout the holiday season and beyond! 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Urban Canopy Works!

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