Plant of the Week
Christmas Trees are
an Old Tradition
 No one knows exactly when or where the tradition of the
Christmas tree began, but there are some interesting theories, according to
Gerald Klingaman, horticulturist for the University of Arkansas Cooperative
Extension Service.
"One of the more colorful stories goes back to Martin Luther
(1483-1546)," says Klingaman. "Luther was strolling through the countryside
on Christmas Eve when he noticed the beauty of a snow-flaked evergreen tree
as it glistened in the moonlit winter landscape.
"He attempted to recreate the winter scene for his family
using a small evergreen tree and lighted candles to simulate the reflected
moonlight."
Some historians trace the use of evergreen trees in the home
to ancient Egyptians. They used green date palms as a symbol of life's
triumph over death in their celebration of the shortest day of the year.
The Romans adorned their houses with evergreens to celebrate
Saturnalia in honor of Saturnus, the god of agriculture.
Klingaman says the first recorded reference to a Christmas
tree appears in German writing dated 1521. "The writer said, ‘At Christmas,
fir trees are set up in the rooms at Strasbourg and hung with roses cut from
paper of many colors, apples, wafers, spangles, gold and sugar.’"
As people began to move across Europe and later to new
lands, they took the Christmas tree tradition with them.
The tradition apparently came to this country slightly
before or during the Revolutionary War, brought by German immigrants
settling in Pennsylvania and Ohio, or by Hessian troops paid to fight in the
Revolution.
Use of the Yule tree spread slowly until just before the
Civil War, when it began gaining popularity. In 1851, the custom had grown
enough to prompt an ambitious farmer in the Catskill Mountains to try a new
venture--selling cut Christmas trees in New York City.
In 1856, Franklin Pierce became the first president to have
a Christmas tree in the White House. In 1923, President Calvin Coolidge
lighted the first national Christmas tree on the lawn of the White House.
Now, two-thirds of all American families put up Christmas
trees.
By: Gerald Klingaman, retired
Extension Horticulturist
- Ornamentals
Extension News -
December 13, 2002
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