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ENLARGE
Steve Bowers
There are many traditions throughout the world with which we associate Christmas. Finland has Santa Claus. Russia has traditional handmade Christmas ornaments. Germany has Christmas markets. But arguably the most well known of Christmas traditions, with all due respect to Jolly ol' St. Nick, is decorating the Christmas tree.
But just how far back can we trace its origin? And what kind of tree was it? During the winter solstice, ancient Egyptians worshipped and treasured evergreen trees and brought green date palm leaves into their homes.
The Romans decorated their houses with evergreens and lights and exchanged gifts. Long ago in Great Britain, woodland priests called Druids used evergreens during winter solstice rituals, placing evergreen branches over doors to keep away evil spirits.
During the Middle Ages, Germans and Scandinavians placed evergreen trees inside their homes and outside their doors to show their hope in the forthcoming spring. Our modern Christmas tree evolved from these early traditions.
Many contend the first decorated tree was displayed in 1510 in Riga, Latvia, but there's no reference of what type of tree received the honor. By 1531, the first retail lots were located in various German cities, though there is no mention of the type of tree being sold.
The first record of a decorated tree at Christmas comes from Germany in 1605, where we read a description of “fir” trees festooned with paper apples, gold foil and sweets. We can't say for sure if the tree really was a fir or the word was used to connote some sort of evergreen species.
In 1851, Catskills farmer Mark Carr hauled two ox sleds of fir and spruce trees into New York City's Washington Market and sold them all for the exorbitant price of 5 and 10 cents (trees higher than 8 feet sold for a quarter).
By 1900, one in five American families had a Christmas tree, and 20 years later, the custom was nearly universal. In 1901, the first Christmas tree farm was started in New Jersey with 25,000 Norway spruce.
They were harvested in 1908 and sold for $1 each. In 1856, President Franklin Pierce brought the first Christmas tree into the White House and by 1923, President Coolidge had begun the national Christmas tree lighting ceremony.
Christmas tree farms sprang up during the Depression. Nurserymen couldn't sell their evergreens for landscaping, so they cut them for Christmas trees.
Cultivated trees were preferred because they were more symmetrical in shape than wild ones.
It appears the fir or spruce trees earn the title of first Christmas tree. Today, there are six species that account for about 90 percent of the nation's Christmas tree trade. According to a recent poll, the most popular Christmas trees in the U.S. are:
Fraser fir, Douglas fir, balsam fir, Colorado blue spruce, Scotch pine, eastern red cedar,
white spruce, eastern white pine,white fir andVirginia pine
There you have it: everything you always wanted to know about Christmas trees and were afraid to ask.
Steve Bowers is the forestry extension agent for OSU Extension Service of Douglas County. He can be reached by e-mail at steve.bowers@oregonstate.edu or by phone at 672-4461.
But just how far back can we trace its origin? And what kind of tree was it? During the winter solstice, ancient Egyptians worshipped and treasured evergreen trees and brought green date palm leaves into their homes.
The Romans decorated their houses with evergreens and lights and exchanged gifts. Long ago in Great Britain, woodland priests called Druids used evergreens during winter solstice rituals, placing evergreen branches over doors to keep away evil spirits.
During the Middle Ages, Germans and Scandinavians placed evergreen trees inside their homes and outside their doors to show their hope in the forthcoming spring. Our modern Christmas tree evolved from these early traditions.
Many contend the first decorated tree was displayed in 1510 in Riga, Latvia, but there's no reference of what type of tree received the honor. By 1531, the first retail lots were located in various German cities, though there is no mention of the type of tree being sold.
The first record of a decorated tree at Christmas comes from Germany in 1605, where we read a description of “fir” trees festooned with paper apples, gold foil and sweets. We can't say for sure if the tree really was a fir or the word was used to connote some sort of evergreen species.
In 1851, Catskills farmer Mark Carr hauled two ox sleds of fir and spruce trees into New York City's Washington Market and sold them all for the exorbitant price of 5 and 10 cents (trees higher than 8 feet sold for a quarter).
By 1900, one in five American families had a Christmas tree, and 20 years later, the custom was nearly universal. In 1901, the first Christmas tree farm was started in New Jersey with 25,000 Norway spruce.
They were harvested in 1908 and sold for $1 each. In 1856, President Franklin Pierce brought the first Christmas tree into the White House and by 1923, President Coolidge had begun the national Christmas tree lighting ceremony.
Christmas tree farms sprang up during the Depression. Nurserymen couldn't sell their evergreens for landscaping, so they cut them for Christmas trees.
Cultivated trees were preferred because they were more symmetrical in shape than wild ones.
It appears the fir or spruce trees earn the title of first Christmas tree. Today, there are six species that account for about 90 percent of the nation's Christmas tree trade. According to a recent poll, the most popular Christmas trees in the U.S. are:
Fraser fir, Douglas fir, balsam fir, Colorado blue spruce, Scotch pine, eastern red cedar,
white spruce, eastern white pine,white fir andVirginia pine
There you have it: everything you always wanted to know about Christmas trees and were afraid to ask.
Steve Bowers is the forestry extension agent for OSU Extension Service of Douglas County. He can be reached by e-mail at steve.bowers@oregonstate.edu or by phone at 672-4461.
