Discover the Magic: Top 9 Fun and Fascinating Facts About Christmas Trees You Never Knew!

1. First American Christmas Tree

Before the Griswolds dazzled their neighborhood with excessive electric cheer, a sweet-toothed German brought festive flair to rural Ohio: In 1847, August Imgard of Wooster, Ohio erected and decorated America's first Christmas tree with paper ornaments, gilded nuts, kuchen, and what might be the earliest use of candy canes in Yuletide décor.
Source => crosswalk.com

2. Tree Farm Tetris

Tannenbaum Tetris, anyone? As Christmas tree farmers deftly strategize to keep up with our holiday demands, they're replacing the felled firs faster than you can say "Jingle Bells": In fact, for every Real Christmas Tree harvested in the U.S., 1 to 3 new seedlings are planted in the following spring, with a whopping 350 million trees currently growing on around 350,000 acres of land and 15,000 farms.
Source => realchristmastrees.org

Did you know that in the past, having electric Christmas lights was considered a luxury for the elite? Lighting up a tree could cost around $2000 in today's dollars! Discover more fascinating facts about the history of these festive decorations.

=> Fun Facts about Christmas-Lights

3. Ancient "Lit" Decorations

Who knew Christmas trees were history's original "lit" party decorations: The origin of Christmas trees goes as far back as ancient Egyptians and Romans, but it truly gained popularity in the 16th century when German monk Martin Luther was inspired by stars through the trees and added lights. Despite being considered pagan symbols in 19th century America, Queen Victoria's family standing around a Christmas tree in an 1846 illustration turned the tides, and now, we enjoy decking those evergreen halls with homemade ornaments and twinkly string lights.
Source => whereyat.com

4. Ukrainian Spider Web Trees

Who needs fake cobwebs for Halloween when you can have the real thing on your Christmas tree? Ukrainian families have been trading tinsel for arachnid artistry for ages: They adorn their festive evergreens with spider webs as a sign of good luck and prosperity for the upcoming year, based on a heartwarming legend where a poor widow's tree was spun with shimmering webs, magically turning into silver and gold when touched by the sun's rays.
Source => vancouverchristmasmarket.com

5. From Flaming Candles to LED Lights

Long before Netflix and LED lights, the people of yore basked in the warm glow of something far more dangerous on their Christmas trees: flaming candles! Fear not, for innovation saved the day: Edward Johnson, a colleague of Thomas Edison, pioneered the electric Christmas lights trend in New York City back in 1882, and by the 1920s, these radiant bulbs outshone their fiery predecessors on trees across the United States.
Source => famoushotels.org

6. Spruce Tea for Vitamin C

Move over, oranges and lemons, spruce trees have a zest for vitamin C too: The needles of spruce trees, a popular choice for Christmas trees, contain more vitamin C than lemons and oranges, making spruce tea an effective, natural remedy against coughs, flu, wounds, and even scurvy—talk about a tree-mendously immune-boosting drink!
Source => botanyseed.com

7. Nova Scotia's Tree Gift to Boston

Oh, tannen-bomb, oh tannen-bomb! In a yearly display of Yuletide diplomacy, Nova Scotia's finest evergreens venture across land and sea to bring joy to Boston's masses: Since 1941, the people of Nova Scotia have gifted Boston an official Christmas tree each year as a token of gratitude for their support after the 1917 Halifax Explosion, with the tradition now prominently featuring a grand tree cutting ceremony, a 750-mile journey, and a festive lighting event enjoyed by thousands.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

8. Metallic Aluminum Trees

Who needs a real Christmas tree when you can have a shiny, retro, metallic masterpiece? As Madonna once sang, "We are living in a material world": Aluminum Christmas trees, popular in the United States from 1958 to the mid-1960s, featured foil branches and were illuminated using a rotating color wheel. Manufactured primarily in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, these artificial trees predated other non-green options like white cotton-batting trees. Although they lost their shine in popularity for a while, collectors have recently been on a foil-frenzied hunt for these groovy gems, buying and selling them at high prices online. So, channel your inner silver-screen starlet and keep an eye out for one of these dazzling vintage treasures!
Source => en.wikipedia.org

9. The Tallest Douglas Fir

In a tale of tree-mendous proportions, the 1950s saw a massive Douglas Fir go from playing Keebler Elf in the forest to hogging all the limelight at a Seattle shopping center, after a slight trim that transformed it into an oversized toothpick: The behemoth Fir, which set the world record as the tallest cut Christmas tree, measured 221 feet tall - making its competition look like mere saplings - and took a whopping 287 years to grow, tipping the scales at 50,000 lbs.
Source => botanykaren.net