A History of the Christmas Tree

The 21^st century is inundated by the internet, cars and airplanes….  At Christmas we send e-cards, order presents on-line and make reservations for the holidays checking our cell phones for flights, restaurants, traffic, etc.  We’re marking off items on our to-do list.  Many people already have their Christmas tree up; if that’s the holiday you’re celebrating.  But do you know the history of the Christmas tree?

The first mention of the celebration of Christmas December 25 is in an ancient Roman calendar in 336 A.D.  In ancient times the Romans used greenery such as ivy, rosemary, holly, firs and simple branches for their celebration.  This greenery was replaced by garlands and wreaths over time.  Since Roman times, European people cut cherry branches and brought them inside, hoping to force them to bloom for the winter holidays.  These flowering branches were the forerunners of the Christmas tree.

In the early church calendar, December 24^th was the Feast of Adam and Eve (early Germany celebrated this feast in the Paradise Play).  They needed an apple tree and chose a fir tree and hung apples on it.  But the first detailed description of a decorated tree is from 1605, from the travel diary of an unidentified visitor to Strasbourg, “At Christmas fir trees are set up in the rooms…and hung with roses cut from paper of many colors, apples, wafers, spangle-gold, sugar etc.”  In some parts of Germany the trees were hung upside down from the rafters, in other parts they were hung right side up from the rafters.

Legend says the Hessian and German soldiers hired by the British to fight in the American Revolution had the first Christmas trees in America.  The first descriptions of decorated Christmas trees in America came from Pennsylvania in the early 1820’s.  In 1842 the first tree appeared in Williamsburg, VA, and President Franklin Pierce brought the first Christmas tree to the White House in 1856.  These early trees were mostly decorated with good treats to eat like fruits and nuts.

In 1882, Edward H. Johnson, the Vice President of Edison’s electric light company had the first Christmas tree lit by electricity in his home.  There were three colors of blinking bulbs and a stand that turned.  It wasn’t until 1895 when President Grover Cleveland had electric lights on the White House Christmas tree.

The first outdoor Christmas tree with lights was in Pasadena, CA in 1909, New York, NY in 1912 and Philadelphia, PA in 1913.

The smell of the evergreen tree opens up our homes to the history of Christmas.  There is no pine cleaner, pine candle or pine scented air freshener that can compare.  If your tree is artificial, some evergreen branches can bring the fresh scent into your home.  To refresh this scent in the house just crush up some of the green needles to release the fragrance of the evergreen.