The Christmas tree is one of the most commonly seen decorations during the Christmas season. Many people usually use an evergreen tree, though others use artificial trees. Though Christmas trees are used all over the world during the festive December season, many don’t know much about the history of this tree and why it’s one of the most classic symbols of Christmas.
In this article, we’ll look closely at some interesting facts about Christmas trees. Let’s get right into it.
History of the Christmas Tree
Some people trace the first Christmas trees back to the 16th century in Europe, particularly Central Europe, as they were documented during the Renaissance. Many believe that Martin Luther placed some kind of lighting on an evergreen tree, though other records show that Lutherans had a Christmas tree in the Cathedral of Strasbourg.
However, while there are more modern records of Christmas trees, others believe that they’ve existed since in medieval times. During those times, plays often had a tree of paradise that was decorated with white, round wafers, and red apples to represent the Eucharist and the fruit from the Garden of Eden respectively.
Historians also believed that the ancient Romans worshipped trees, but there is no evidence to suggest that this claim is true.
10 Interesting Facts About Christmas Trees
1. Podłaźniczka was a type of Polish Christmas tree.
A unique tradition that both Slovakian and Polish people follow is Podłaźniczka. Podłaźniczka is a type of Christmas decoration where the branch of a pine, fir, or spruce tree is decorated and hung from the ceiling during a winter festival called Koliada. This festival refers to the Slavic name for the December Christmas season. During this time, the evergreen branch is decorated with nuts, stars, and apples. It represents prosperity and good luck in the home.
2. Queen Charlotte introduced Christmas trees to Britain.
Even though the concept of having and decorating a tree at Christmastime had been a concept for several decades, it hadn’t quite reached Britain yet. However, Queen Charlotte was born in Germany, where decorating a Christmas tree was already a popular thing to do. In the year 1800, she threw a Christmas party for her children and introduced them to the tree. However, by the time Queen Victoria came around, Christmas trees were placed all over the palace, including her own room.
3. People from the country Georgia have their own version of a Christmas tree.
Though the evergreen tree is the most commonly seen tree all over the world, Georgians have their own version of a Christmas tree. It is called Chichilaki and is made from the dried branches of a walnut or hazelnut tree. Those branches are then shaved to look like a coniferous tree and decorated with various ornaments. The shape of this tree is believed to represent St. Basil the Great’s beard. It also represents the tree of life, which is a Georgian sympol of hope. These trees are considered to be environmentally-friendly as well.
4. Christmas trees reached North America only in the 18th century.
Christmas trees had become popular in various parts of Europe, but America and Canada hadn’t quite caught on yet. However, in 1781, a group of Hessian soldiers were stationed in Québec. Their general, Friedrich Adolf Riedesel, threw a party with his wife, and decorated a tree with candles and dried fruit. In the years that followed, Christmas trees became increasingly popular all over the United States and Canada.
5. Artificial Christmas trees have been around since the 19th century.
One of the most interesting things about artificial Christmas trees is that they haven’t been around for very long! The first artificial Christmas trees used dyed goose feathers for leaves, and were developed in the late 1880s. They were incredibly popular all over Europe, and were eventually exported to North America, where they became popular there as well. In later years, artificial Christmas trees were made from wood, aluminum, and fiber-obtics.
6. Fir trees are considered to be a Christian symbol.
The first records of fir trees as a symbol of Christianity go all the way back to 723 AD. At the time, St. Boniface was traveling around Germany and evangelizing it. A text from the time refers to an incident where, during a pagan ritual, St. Boniface stopped a group of people from sacrificing a baby under an oak tree. He cut the tree down with an axe, and discovered that there was a baby fir tree right behind it. Boniface said that the tree would represent Jesus, since its leaves pointed towards heaven and it would remain evergreen.
7. Millions of Christmas trees are produced every year.
In America, around 36 million Christmas trees are produced every year, and anywhere between 50-60 million trees are produced in Europe. American’s also collectively spend over $2 billion every year on Christmas, as shown in data sourced from 2016.
8. Artificial trees are harmful to the environment.
While some artificial Christmas trees are manufactured with recyclable materials, tree growers around the US and Europe state otherwise. Live trees are often grown as crops, meaning that they are replaced after being cut, thus providing various forms of wildlife with a natural habitat. On the other hand, some artificial trees contain lead and other unhealthy materials that cause their buyers to suffer from health problems.
9. Christmas trees can be recycled.
In many parts of the US, Christmas trees are recycled to be used as mulch. They are also used in preventing erosion, and in some cases, can be reforested.
10. The Rockefeller Christmas tree is a popular tourist attraction.
The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is generally laden with thousands of lights. The tallest tree at the center was 100 feet tall, and was from Connecticut.
Conclusion
In this article, we walked you through a list of interesting facts about Christmas trees. When researching this article, we were immensely surprised at how much we didn’t know about the humble evergreen Christmas tree and what it represents. Was there something that we missed? Let us know in the comments below!
