Some Christmas Tree Trivia

It is said that the German Moravian Church settlement in Bethlehem, PA decorated a pyramid shaped piece of wood and covered it with evergreen branches and candles. This is supposedly the first place on record of having a Christmas tree, then again somewhere else it says the Germans were the first to have Christmas trees in American by 1747.

In 1804, during the War of Independence by Hessian troops, trees were set up for soldiers at Fort Dearborn, IL. So….who were the Hessian’s? They were German mercenaries who fought for the British during the Revolutionary War.

Then in 1842, Charles Minnegrode was credited to have introduced the custom of decorating the Christmas Tree. He is from Williamsburg, VA. Each family member had a small tabletop tree, which they decorated with tinsel, candles and beads.

When the telegraph arrived is when the custom of having a Christmas tree really began to spread. This was in the 19th century but they weren’t sold commercially until the 1850’s.

The first president, Franklin Pierce, our 14th, was the first to set up a Christmas tree in the White House.

The first community based Christmas tree was in New York City in 1912.

The first national Christmas tree was on the White House lawn and was lighted in 1923 by President Calvin Coolidge.

The Christmas tree lost its popularity during World War II but then again became popular after the war.

In the mid-1960’s, when plastic became so popular and everything was Mod, silver aluminum trees were all the rage along with the rotating colored lights which bounced off the reflecting needles. No need to decorate with anything but colored balls now.

Since 1966, a tree from the National Christmas Tree Association has been displayed in the Blue Room of the White House.

But, if you really start researching this subject, you'll find all sorts of contradictory statements, so just take it with a grain of salt!