It is an accepted fact
that the Christmas tree
tradition is one that was
brought to the shores of America by German
immigrants who continued a practice that
was
popular in their former homeland. Today,
a Christmas tree, even a miniature one,
is present in just about every home at Christmas.
It is therefore interesting to note some little-known
facts about the Christmas Tree and other
traditions related to Christmas.
The first interesting fact is the
source of real Christmas Trees for some Americans. These can be bought at a
Christmas Tree Farm or at many local stores and other places of business in just about
every town and city across the country around Christmas time. But according
to the National Christmas Tree Association, Americans buy about 330,000
Christmas trees that are real through e-commerce or from a catalogue and have
them shipped by mail-order. The scent of real Christmas trees is the
reason they are so popular. But as they stand silently in their decorative wonder,
they also are providing another benefit. The Christmas Tree Association says
the amount of oxygen produced on a daily basis by one acre of Christmas tree is
enough to provide enough oxygen for 18 people. And during the first week, a C
hristmas Tree at home will use up to one quart of water each day to help retain
its longevity for the many days of Christmas.
Since Christmas celebrations gained popularity in America, the Christmas Tree has always been a big tradition. During the 1950s however, artificial Christmas trees were not always green. It was very popular during those times to have artificial trees with other colors such as silver, pink and aqua. The appeal in having these colored Christmas trees may have been due to the fact that they looked shiny and bright and appeared like tinsel instead of green foliage. An important ceremony related to the Christmas tree that gains national attention during the Christmas season is the lighting of the National Christmas Tree at the White House. This tradition can be credited to President Calvin Coolidge who lit the first decorated Christmas tree outside at the White House in 1923.
The lighting of the National Christmas Tree has also been used to convey some symbolic meaning not related to Christmas. It was not lighted until Dec. 22 in 1963 because of a national mourning period of 30 days for the assassination of President Kennedy. And while Teddy Roosevelt was President he gave an order that banned the Christmas tree from the White House, not for the assassination of President McKinley in 1901, which caused him to become president, but for reasons related to the environment.
Also of note is that when the National Christmas Tree was lighted on Dec. 13 in 1984, temperatures were in the 70s during an unusually warm December. Christmas has been celebrated in the United States since the 1600s although it wasn't always very popular. It took more than two centuries into the mid-late 1860s for Christmas to become a popular holiday season all across America. So maybe the rest of the country owes the holiday of Christmas Day to the state of Alabama, which in 1836 became the first state to declare Dec. 25 a legal holiday.
It is interesting to note that on Christmas Day of 1789 Congress was in session. And to show how far ahead of the game Alabama was, it wasn't until June 26, 1870 that the federal government declared Christmas as a federal holiday. Although Christmas is based on the Christian religion, not all Christian groups celebrate the season. Among the Christian groups who do not celebrate Christmas and related traditions such as sending greeting cards are Jehovah Witnesses. Jehovah Witnesses and other non-participating Christian groups say Christmas isn't specifically mentioned in the Bible as a time or reason to celebrate and since they strictly adhere to the word of the Bible, they refuse to celebrate Christmas.
