The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (December 2010)

A Christmas tree farmer in the U.S. state of Florida explains the pruning and shearing process of cultivation to a government employee.

Christmas tree cultivation is an agricultural, forestry, and horticultural occupation which involves growing pine, spruce, and fir trees specifically for use as Christmas trees. The first Christmas tree farm was established in 1901, but most consumers continued to obtain their trees from forests until the 1930s and 1940s. Christmas tree farming was once seen only as a viable alternative for low-quality farmland, but that perception has changed within the agriculture industry. For optimum yield and quality, land should be flat or gently rolling and relatively free of debris and undergrowth.

A wide variety of pine and fir species are grown as Christmas trees, although a handful of varieties stand out in popularity. In the United States, Douglas-fir, Scots Pine and Fraser Fir all sell well. Nordmann Fir and Norway Spruce sell well in the United Kingdom, the latter being popular throughout Europe. Like all conifers, Christmas trees are vulnerable to a range of pests. Aphids and adelgids are the most common problems among insect pests, and sudden oak death is a recent development in Californian tree farms. Christmas tree farming has also raised criticism from environmentalists due to the use of pesticides and the possible effects of farming on biodiversity.

The final stage of cultivation, harvesting, is carried out in a number of ways; one of the more popular methods is the pick-your-own tree farm, where customers are allowed to roam the farm, select their tree, and cut it down themselves. Other farmers cultivate potted trees, with balled roots, which can be replanted after Christmas and used again the following year. In the United States, research into Christmas tree genetics has produced better strains of tree seed, which has resulted in higher yields of quality Christmas trees. Jurisdictions in Canada and the United States have established quality grades for cut Christmas trees.

History[link]

The practice of cultivating evergreens specifically to sell as Christmas trees dates back to 1901, when a 25,000 tree Norway Spruce farm was sown near Trenton, New Jersey.^[1] The commercial market for Christmas trees had started fifty years earlier when a farmer from the Catskill Mountains brought trees into New York City to sell.^[2] Despite these pioneering efforts, most people still obtained wild-grown Christmas trees from forests into the 1930s and 1940s.^[3] More trees were grown in plantations after World War II, and by the 1950s farmers were shearing and pruning trees to meet customer demands. The Christmas tree market burgeoned through the 1960s and 1970s, but from the late 1980s onward prices and the market for natural Christmas trees declined. In the early 21st century, nearly 98 percent of all natural (non-artificial) Christmas trees sold worldwide were grown on tree farms.^[4]

Cultivation[link]

Land and climate[link]

This Christmas tree farm in southern Virginia is situated in a gently rolling valley.

Christmas tree farms are best located on relatively level land which is free of obstructions. In the past, Christmas tree farmers established their plantations on less desirable agricultural plots or "wastelands of agriculture".^[5] However, emphasis in modern Christmas tree farming has shifted toward the production of higher-quality trees, increasing land quality expectations as well.^[5] Indeed, some species of tree, such as the Fraser Fir, are unable to grow on low-quality, marginal farmland.^[6] Flat or gently rolling land is preferred to that with steep slopes and inclines, which is prone to erosion and fluctuations in fertility. Noticeable obstructions, such as rocks, fences or significant underbrush, are also undesirable.^[5]

This Christmas tree farm in Iowa is located on flat ground and has well-mowed rows between the trees.

Like all crops and plants, Christmas trees require a specific set of nutrients to thrive.^[7] There are 16 elements crucial for growth; of those, three are obtained through air and water: hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen. Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, boron, copper, chlorine, manganese, molybdenum, iron, and zinc are obtained from the soil. If the necessary elements are not available in the local soil, nutritious fertilizers are used.^[7] Other important soil considerations include pH and drainage.^[8] Certain types of soil are preferable, depending on the type of tree. Pine trees are usually better adapted to a sandy or sandy loam soil,^[9] while White Spruce trees and fir trees, such as the Douglas-fir, prefer fine-texture loams and clay loam soils.^[9] Some trees grow well in all types of soil, but in any case, the land must be well-drained for a Christmas tree farm to have a chance of thriving.^[9]

The weather, as with other agricultural endeavors, plays a key outcome in the yield of a Christmas tree farm. Severe cold in the winter and extreme hot and dry conditions during and after harvest can cause irreparable damage to the crop.^[10] Early snow can make both harvesting and shipping trees difficult or impossible.^[10]

Labor and equipment[link]

Christmas tree farming is a labor-intensive process. Depending on the quality of the land, bulldozing may need to be undertaken prior to planting, in order to remove obstacles such as large trees or rocks.^[11] If the volume of undergrowth requires it, the soil may be tilled; tilling can help remove any debris remaining after tree or weed removal. Both woody plants and herbaceous weeds must be controlled prior to planting; this is most often done by application of a chemical herbicide.^[11] In addition, some types of fertilizers must be introduced into the soil prior to planting.^[11] The work done before planting tree seedlings plays an important role in the overall success of a Christmas tree crop.^[10]

After the trees are in the ground, work on the crop continues. Animal pests (especially insects) and diseases must be monitored and controlled, and weed growth must also be minimized. Many species of pine and fir require pruning and shearing two to four years after planting to maintain the trademark Christmas tree shape.^[10] Late or omitted pruning can result in trees that are unmarketable due to large gaps in needle coverage. Some species of pine, such as the Scots Pine, are susceptible to dormant season "yellowing", which is generally countered with a green dye or paint.^[10][12]

The outlay of money on equipment varies greatly. Some items commonly found on Christmas tree farms are insecticide sprayers, tractors, and shaper sheers.^[13] Mechanized planters, at a cost of about US$4,000, are not essential but a work-saving luxury for farmers.^[13] Farmers can purchase seedlings, the lifeblood of a Christmas tree farm, from nurseries. One farmer in Oregon purchased seedlings for between US$200–300 per 1,000 plants. The farmer, a wholesaler, sold his final products for about $20 each; after the cost of the trees and other expenses, a profit of $2–3 per tree.^[13]

Trees[link]

Fraser Fir (cone and foliage pictured) is a popular species of Christmas tree in both the United States and Great Britain.

The best-selling species in the North American market are Scots Pine, Douglas-fir, Noble Fir, Balsam Fir, Fraser Fir, Virginia Pine, and Eastern White Pine, although other types of trees are also grown and sold.^[4][14] In Alabama, for example, types of trees grown for use as Christmas trees include Eastern White Pine, Redcedar, Virginia Pine, Leyland Cypress, and Arizona Cypress.^[15] In Florida, the Sand Pine and Spruce Pine are among the 20,000 grown in the state each year.^[16]

Norway Spruce is a popular Christmas tree species in Europe.

In Great Britain, Nordmann Fir is a popular species, largely due to its needle-holding qualities.^[17][18] Other popular trees in Britain are Norway Spruce, Serbian Spruce, and Scots Pine, the last of which is slightly rarer;^[18] it has sharp needles which do not shed easily.^[17]

In the U.S. Pacific Northwest, a major Christmas tree growing region, Douglas-fir has always been the primary species grown.^[19] A full one-half of all trees produced in the Pacific Northwest are Douglas-fir.^[19] Douglas-firs typically take five to seven years before they are mature enough to sell as Christmas trees.^[19] Also common in the region are Noble Fir, a tree which commands a higher price than Douglas-fir, and Grand Fir, which accounts for about 10 percent of the annual harvest in the Northwest.^[19] Other species collectively account for only 3–5 percent of the total Northwest harvest.^[19]

In North America, Fraser Fir, grown in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, has been called the "Cadillac of Christmas Trees" as well as the "most popular and most valuable of Christmas tree species".^[20] In the southern United States, Virginia Pine is a popular Christmas tree species.^[21] In Canada, White Pine, White Spruce, Scots Pine, Blue Spruce and Fraser Fir are commonly cultivated.^[22] In the province of Ontario, Scots Pine has always dominated both the domestic and export markets.^[22] Other regions of the world also have different favorites when it comes to natural Christmas trees, and Christmas tree farms reflect these; In Europe, Norway Spruce is popular.^[21]

Pests, disease and weeds[link]

An adult Balsam woolly adelgid, a major pest in the Christmas tree industry

Many of the conifer species cultivated face infestations and death from such pests as the Balsam woolly adelgid, other adelgids and aphids. Invasive insect species, such as the pine shoot beetle and the gypsy moth, also threaten Christmas tree crops.^[23] Christmas trees are also vulnerable to fungal pathogens, resulting in such illnesses as root rot, and, in California, Washington, Oregon and British Columbia sudden oak death.^[24] Douglas-fir trees are especially vulnerable to infections from plant pathogens such as R. pseudotsugae and Rhabdocline weirii; R. weirii affects only Douglas-fir trees.^[25][26] The pathogen often makes Douglas-fir trees unsaleable as Christmas trees and heavily affects the Christmas tree farming industry.^[25]

Mammals such as deer, gophers and ground squirrels are also threats to Christmas tree crops, due to the damage they cause to roots and buds. Certain species of birds are also considered pests, including the Pine Grosbeak, which feeds on conifer buds,^[27] usually affecting Scots Pine but also affecting Eastern White Pine and Red Pine, as well as spruce trees.^[28] Herbaceous weeds, as well as woody plants, also compete with Christmas tree crops for water and nutrients, necessitating control methods including mowing, chemical herbicide use, and tilling.

Quality[link]

Christmas tree quality grades have been in place since 1965 in Ontario, Canada, and were included under the provincial Farm Products Grades and Sales Act.^[22] While the grades in Ontario are law, in the United States the grading system is not mandated. In fact, it is common for U.S. growers to develop their own grading systems.^[34] The grading systems established by individual jurisdictions are often in the spirit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) grading scheme, even if they are not entirely based upon them.^[35] The Department of Agriculture's United States Standards for Grades of Christmas Trees took effect on October 30, 1989, covering "sheared or unsheared trees of the coniferous species which are normally marketed as Christmas trees".^[29]

Harvest[link]

Customers, armed with a saw, at a typical "choose-and-cut" Christmas tree farm

Christmas trees can be harvested and marketed in different ways. Some operations are known as "choose-and-cut" or pick-your-own farms, which allow customers to walk through the planted land, select their Christmas tree and cut down themselves.^[8] Wholesale operations are more labor-intensive because they usually require the farmer to complete tasks such as baling, cutting, moving the trees to a roadside pick-up, and loading the harvest. In addition, this work must be completed during a very short period in November.^[8] Growers also harvest trees by digging and balling the root and selling the trees as nursery stock or as live, reusable Christmas trees. This last option allows trees to be harvested earlier than the usual six to ten year period required to grow a mature Christmas tree.^[8]

Customers haul their own purchases off-site at choose-and-cut farms.

Larger farms began using helicopters to move tree harvests during the 1980s.^[3] One 1,200-acre (490 ha) farm in Oregon lacked road access, so it began using helicopters to move up to 200,000 Christmas trees per year.^[36] Helicopters reduce the amount of time between harvesting and market, cutting it from up to two weeks down to as little as three days.^[36]

Not all natural Christmas trees harvested are grown on plantations. In British Columbia, Canada, for example, most of the 900,000 trees harvested for use as Christmas trees came from native pine and fir stands.^[37] The British Columbia Ministry of Forests and Ranges allows any resident of the province to cut a Christmas tree for free from Crown Lands, provided the individual receive prior permission in writing from a Forest Officer.^[38] In the United States, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management offer permits for individual tree cutting on government land, mostly within the National Forest system.^[39]

Farmers[link]

The people who operate Christmas tree farms range from full-time growers to part-time farmers. One farmer in Minnesota, who began planting Christmas trees in 1967, gave his trees away for free from his modest 1-acre (4,000 m²) farm for ten years before establishing a tree farming business.^[40] Other farmers started growing Christmas trees as a supplemental income for retirement or college funds,^[41][42] or they worked farms that were not originally established as Christmas tree farms.^[43][44]

Various national growers' associations have been founded in Christmas tree producing nations. In the United Kingdom, the British Christmas Tree Growers Association is a trade association open to membership from Christmas tree farmers in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.^[45] The National Christmas Tree Association serves a similar function in the United States.^[46]

Environmental effect[link]

In the United States, the National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA) promotes the environmental benefits of live Christmas trees over the competing artificial alternative.^[47] The NCTA stated that every acre of Christmas trees in production produced the daily oxygen requirement for 18 people; with 500,000 acres (200,000 ha) in production in the U.S. alone, that amounts to oxygen for 9 million people per day.^[47] The NCTA also stated that the farms help to stabilize the soil, protect water supplies and provide wildlife habitat.^[47] In addition, the industry points to the reduction of carbon dioxide through Christmas tree farming.^[48] An independent Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study, conducted by a firm of experts in sustainable development, states that a natural tree will generate 3.1 kg of greenhouse gases whereas the artificial tree will produce 8.1 kg per year.^[49]

A 1998 report from the Michigan State University Agricultural Experiment Station predicted increasing environmental concerns about tree production and use as one possible reason people may favor artificial trees in the future. The report cited the use of fertilizers and pesticides and increasing concerns regarding tree disposal as the chief elements in its prediction.^[50] Critics of tree farming have raised the concerns highlighted in the 1998 report, as well as other issues, such as the effect that large-scale tree farming operations have on biodiversity.^[48] Pesticide use on Christmas tree farms is one of the main concerns of environmentalists;^[48][51] fir trees are vulnerable to a wide array of pests and diseases which requires the use of pesticides and other chemicals including the widely-used herbicide glyphosate (brand name Roundup).^[48] Glyphosate is commonly used in Christmas tree production in the U.S. state of North Carolina, where studies have found traces of agricultural chemicals in homes and tree industry workers' urine samples.^[48] The average Christmas tree receives roughly a half of an ounce (14 g) of pesticide over its lifetime.^[51]

The BBC's "Gardening" website called buying Christmas trees directly from the farm, "the most environmentally friendly way of getting a tree".^[18] Other positive environmental attributes have been given live Christmas trees as well. Researchers at the University of Nebraska included the reuse of natural Christmas trees as mulch and, in larger quantities, piled up as soil erosion barriers, among the benefits of live tree use.^[52] Other positive reuses included fish habitat in private ponds and backyard bird feeders.^[52]

Workers move overgrown Christmas trees into place in the Connecticut River as part of an erosion restoration project.

In 2002 overgrown Christmas trees were used in a project to restore a 1,200-foot (370 m) long section of severely eroded riverbank along the Connecticut River at the Birch Meadow Farm in Fairlee, Vermont.^[53] As part of the project, overgrown, 20–40 feet (6.1–12 m) Christmas trees were used to help create a revetment at the site in order to deflect the river current away from the restoration work site.^[53] The trees were placed in the river, with their tips pointed downstream, protected by a small rock tie back and cabled into the riverbank. After the trees were in place various plants were rooted among their branches.^[53]

Research[link]

Institutions[link]

Since 2004, several researchers at Oregon State University's (OSU) College of Forestry have researched various aspects of Christmas tree cultivation. In the Department of Forest Resources, Rick Fletcher is researching Christmas tree genetics, fertilization and disease management, while Chad Landgren is concentrating his emphasis on Christmas tree genetics and disease management. Both men are doing their research in the Silviculture and Ecology Section of the department.^[54] In OSU's Department of Forest Science, Mike Bondi is conducting ongoing research into Christmas tree fertilization, productivity and genetics, as well as natural and artificial regeneration systems.^[55] During the mid-1990s, the trio's research was primarily focused on creating better Christmas tree seed stock, resulting in a higher percentage of quality mature trees, through genetic improvements.^[56] Similar research has been conducted by the Agricultural Experiment Station at New Mexico State University.^[57]

U.S. institutions in other Christmas tree producing locales have also undertaken their own research programs. North Carolina State University has several full-time staff dedicated to all aspects of tree production.^[58] Specialties at N.C. State cross several academic departments and range from a Christmas tree genetics program to providing material support for growers in areas such as sustainable agriculture and pest management.^[58]

Industry classification[link]

Activities related to the cultivation of Christmas trees require cross-disciplinary (forestry, horticulture, and agriculture) skills and fall into different specialty categories. Under the terms of Title 29 of the United States Code, which defines federal regulations pertaining to the United States Department of Labor, Christmas tree planting, tending and cutting are specifically not "farming operations".^[59] The U.S. Farm Service Agency (FSA) does not provide federal crop insurance for Christmas tree crops, however, there is an alternative program, through the FSA, which provides assistance for non-insured crops.^[60] The U.S. Census Bureau, responsible for the Agriculture Census until 1997, excluded Christmas tree farms as farms from its reports. When the Census of Agriculture authority was shifted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1997 the differences in definition were resolved and the Census of Agriculture included Christmas tree farms.^[61]

The status of Christmas tree farms as actual, by definition, farms, and their products thus agricultural in nature, has evolved in the various government agencies responsible for such categorization. In both Canada, and the United States the governments take a regular Census of Agriculture, reporting in these censuses relies on the classifications.^[62][62] Beginning in 1996, the Canadian government included Christmas tree farms in its Census of Agriculture concerning the issue of net farm income and farm cash receipts. The changes also included the addition of egg hatcheries to the census.^[62] The results were marginal with net cash farm income rising just 0.1 percent.^[62]

In the United Kingdom, Christmas trees do not fall into the category of enterprises included in farm profits.^[63] Instead, Christmas tree farms are classified as "market gardens".^[63] Market gardens are defined separately from farming and are nurseries or gardens used for the sale of produce other than hops.^[63] However, in Northern Ireland, some Christmas trees are cultivated and harvested by the Forest Service.^[64]

Cultural significance[link]

This reindeer, at a tree farm in Seattle, is part of the holiday-themed extras offered by many Christmas tree farms

In the United States, visits to Christmas tree farms have become a Christmas holiday tradition for people.^[40][41] Christmas tree farms have embraced this trend; at one Minnesota tree farm it has become tradition for customers to pose for snapshots with their trees, when they return in subsequent years they can check the "wall of memories" for their photo.^[40] Other tree farms have served the same families for multiple generations, becoming a part of each group's holiday traditions.^[41][65] In 2006, New York state Agriculture Commissioner Patrick H. Brennan, supported the virtues of purchasing Christmas trees from local Christmas tree farms.^[66] In a statement released to support New York Christmas tree growers he stated,

It is a tradition in my family to visit our local tree farm and harvest our family’s Christmas tree. It is a wonderful event for the whole family and if you don’t already do so, I encourage you to share this tradition with your family.^[66] –NY Agriculture Commissioner Patrick H. Brennan, 2006

Some tree farms offer more than just a chance to cut down a live Christmas tree. Outdoor and holiday themed activities are not uncommon and include wagon rides, offering hot cocoa or cider, Santa Claus visits and holiday crafts.^[67] Many tree farms actively encourage schools to sponsor field trips to the farms. One grower in Kansas contended that usual worries for businesses, such as a tight economy, do not affect Christmas tree farms.^[68] The grower thought that obtaining a tree from a Christmas tree farm was something that almost nothing could stop; an activity that transcended the economy and the weather.^[68]

See also[link]

• Energy forestry
• Forestry
• Holiday tree
• Hanukkah bush
• New Year Tree
• Rouse Simmons
• Silviculture
• Festive ecology

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Christmas tree farms

• Attack of the Mutant Artificial Trees, Flash game, from the NCTA
• Canadian Christmas Tree Growers Association, Canada
• Christmas Tree Magazine, trade publication
• British Christmas Tree Growers Association, Great Britain
• National Christmas Tree Association, United States
• CNN: Growers tag 'green' Christmas trees

Painting by Viggo Johansen (1891)

A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer such as pine or fir, traditionally associated with the celebration of Christmas. An artificial Christmas tree is an object made to resemble such a tree, usually made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

The tree was traditionally decorated with edibles such as apples, nuts or dates. In the 18th century, it began to be illuminated by candles, which with electrification could also be replaced by Christmas lights. Today, there is a wide variety of traditional ornaments, such as garland, tinsel, and candy canes. An angel or star may be placed at the top of the tree, to represent the host of angels or the Star of Bethlehem from the Nativity.

The custom of the Christmas tree developed in early modern Germany with predecessors that can be traced to the 16th and possibly the 15th century. It acquired popularity beyond Germany during the second half of the 19th century.^[1] The Christmas tree has also been known as the "Yule-tree", especially in discussions of its folkloristic origins.^[2][3]

History[link]

Possible predecessors[link]

While it is clear that the Christmas tree originates in Renaissance and early modern Germany, there are a number of speculative theories as to its ultimate origin. Its 16th-century origins are sometimes associated with Martin Luther.^[4][5]

It is frequently traced to the symbolism of evergreen trees in supposed "pre-Christian winter rites", especially with the story of the Donar Oak and Saint Boniface.^[6]

Alternatively, it is identified with the "tree of Paradise" of medieval mystery plays that were given on 24 December, the commemoration and name day of Adam and Eve in various countries. In such plays, a tree decorated with apples (to represent the forbidden fruit) and wafers (to represent the Eucharist and redemption) was used as a setting for the play. Like the Christmas crib, the Paradise tree was later placed in homes. The apples were replaced by round objects such as shiny red balls.^[3]

Early evidence[link]

Customs of erecting decorated trees in wintertime can be traced to Christmas celebrations in Renaissance-era guilds in Northern Germany and Livonia.

The first evidence of decorated trees associated with Christmas Day are trees in guild halls decorated with sweets to be enjoyed by the apprentices and children. In Livonia (Present day Latvia and Estonia), in 1441, 1442, 1510 and 1514,^{[citation needed]} the Brotherhood of Blackheads erected a tree for the holidays^{[clarification needed]} in their guild houses in Reval (now Tallinn) and Riga. On the last night of the celebrations leading up to the holidays,^{[clarification needed]} the tree was taken to the Town Hall Square where the members of the brotherhood danced around it.^[7] A Bremen guild chronicle of 1570 reports that a small tree decorated with "apples, nuts, dates, pretzels and paper flowers" was erected in the guild-house for the benefit of the guild members' children, who collected the dainties on Christmas Day.^[1] In 1584, the pastor and chronicler Balthasar Russow in his Chronica der Provinz Lyfflandt (1584) wrote of an established tradition of setting up a decorated spruce at the market square where the young men "went with a flock of maidens and women, first sang and danced there and then set the tree aflame".^{[clarification needed]}

After the Reformation, such trees are seen in the houses of upper-class Protestant families as a counterpart to the Catholic Christmas cribs. This transition from the guild hall to the bourgeois family homes in the Protestant parts of Germany ultimately gives rise to the modern tradition as it developed in the 18th and 19th centuries.

18th to early 20th centuries[link]

Germany[link]

Die Gartenlaube (1871) showing "the German Christmas tree" (Der deutsche Weihnachtsbaum) in a field hospital in Versailles after the Franco-Prussian War.

"A German Christmas" (deutsche Christnacht) in Cameroon, ca. 1900 (German Federal Archives)

By the early 18th century, the custom had become common in towns of the upper Rhineland, but it had not yet spread to rural areas. Wax candles are attested^{[clarification needed]} from the late 18th century, at the time expensive items.

The Christmas tree remained confined to the upper Rhineland for a relatively long time. It was regarded as a Protestant custom by the Roman Catholic majority along the lower Rhine, and was spread there only by Prussian officials who were moved there in the wake of the Congress of Vienna in 1815.

In the 19th century, the Christmas tree was taken to be an expression of German culture and of Gemütlichkeit, especially among emigrants overseas.^[8]

A decisive factor in winning general popularity was the German army's decision to place Christmas trees in its barracks and military hospitals during the 1870-1871 war. Only at the turn of the century did Christmas trees appear inside churches, this time in a new brightly lit form.^[9]

Adoption by European nobility[link]

In the early 19th century, the custom became popular among the nobility and spread to royal courts as far as Russia. Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg introduced the Christmas tree to Vienna in 1816, and the custom spread across Austria in the following years. In France, the first Christmas tree was introduced in 1840 by the duchesse d'Orléans. In Denmark a Danish newspaper claims that the first attested Christmas tree was lit in 1808 by countess Wilhemine of Holsteinborg. It was the aging countess who told the story of the first Danish Christmas tree to the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen in 1865. He had published a fairy-tale called The Fir-Tree in 1844, recounting the fate of a fir-tree being used as a Christmas tree.^[10]

In Britain, the Christmas tree was introduced in the time of the personal union with Hanover, by George III's Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz in early 19th century, but the custom hadn't yet spread much beyond the royal family. Queen Victoria as a child was familiar with the custom and a tree was placed in her room every Christmas. In her journal for Christmas Eve 1832, the delighted 13-year-old princess wrote, "After dinner… we then went into the drawing-room near the dining-room… There were two large round tables on which were placed two trees hung with lights and sugar ornaments. All the presents being placed round the trees…"^[11] After her marriage to her German cousin Prince Albert, by 1841 the custom became even more widespread throughout Britain.^[12] In 1847, Prince Albert wrote: "I must now seek in the children an echo of what Ernest [his brother] and I were in the old time, of what we felt and thought; and their delight in the Christmas-trees is not less than ours used to be".^[13]

North America[link]

Illustration for Harper's Bazaar, published 1 January 1870.

The tradition was introduced to Canada in the winter of 1781 by Brunswick soldiers stationed in the Province of Quebec to garrison the colony against American attack. General Friedrich Adolf Riedesel and his wife, the Baroness von Riedesel, held a Christmas party at Sorel, delighting their guests with a fir tree decorated with candles and fruits.^[14]

A woodcut of the British Royal family with their Christmas tree at Windsor Castle, initially published in the Illustrated London News December 1848, was copied in the United States at Christmas 1850, in Godey's Lady's Book. Godey's copied it exactly, except for the removal of the Queen's tiara and Prince Albert's mustache, to remake the engraving into an American scene.^[15] The republished Godey's image became the first widely circulated picture of a decorated evergreen Christmas tree in America. Art historian Karal Ann Marling called Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, shorn of their royal trappings, "the first influential American Christmas tree".^[16] Folk-culture historian Alfred Lewis Shoemaker states, "In all of America there was no more important medium in spreading the Christmas tree in the decade 1850-60 than Godey's Lady's Book". The image was reprinted in 1860, and by the 1870s, putting up a Christmas tree had become common in America.^[15]

Several cities in the United States with German connections lay claim to that country's first Christmas tree: Windsor Locks, Connecticut, claims that a Hessian soldier put up a Christmas tree in 1777 while imprisoned at the Noden-Reed House, while the "First Christmas Tree in America" is also claimed by Easton, Pennsylvania, where German settlers purportedly erected a Christmas tree in 1816. In his diary, Matthew Zahm of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, recorded the use of a Christmas tree in 1821, leading Lancaster to also lay claim to the first Christmas tree in America.^[17] Other accounts credit Charles Follen, a German immigrant to Boston, for being the first to introduce to America the custom of decorating a Christmas tree.^[18] August Imgard, a German immigrant living in Wooster, Ohio, is the first to popularise the practice of decorating a tree with candy canes. In 1847, Imgard cut a blue spruce tree from a woods outside town, had the Wooster village tinsmith construct a star, and placed the tree in his house, decorating it with paper ornaments and candy canes. The National Confectioners Association officially recognises Imgard as the first ever to put candy canes on a Christmas tree; the canes were all-white, with no red stripes. Imgard is buried in the Wooster Cemetery, and every year, a large pine tree above his grave is lit with Christmas lights. German immigrant Charles Minnegerode accepted a position as a professor of humanities at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg in 1842, where he taught Latin and Greek. Entering into the social life of the Virginia Tidewater, Minnigerode introduced the German custom of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas at the home of law professor St. George Tucker, thereby becoming another of many influences that prompted Americans to adopt the practice at about that time.^[19]

The lyrics sung in the United States to the German tune O Tannenbaum begin "O Christmas tree", giving rise to the mistaken idea that the German word "Tannenbaum" (fir tree) means "Christmas tree", the German word for which is instead "Weihnachtsbaum".

Vera Komissarzhevskaya as Nora in Ibsen's A Dolls House (c. 1904).

1918 to present[link]

This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this section if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (January 2012)

In Russia, the Christmas tree was banned shortly after the October Revolution but then reinstated as a New-year fir-tree (Новогодняя ёлка) in 1935. It became a fully secular icon of the New Year holiday, for example, the crowning star was regarded not as a symbol of Bethlehem Star, but as the Red Star. Decorations, such as figurines of airplanes, bicycles, space rockets, cosmonauts, and characters of Russian fairy tales, were produced. This tradition persists after the fall of the USSR, with the New Year holiday outweighing the Christmas (7 January) for a wide majority of Russian people^{[citation needed]}.

The TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) was influential on the pop culture surrounding the Christmas tree. Aluminum Christmas trees were popular during the early 1960s in the US. They were satirized in the Charlie Brown show and came to be seen as symbolizing the commercialization of Christmas. The term Charlie Brown Christmas tree, describing any poor-looking or malformed little tree, also derives from the 1965 TV special, based on the appearance of Charlie Brown's Christmas tree.

• 

  An Italian American family on Christmas 1924

• Xmas1951.jpg

  An unsheared Christmas tree from 1951, in a home in New York State.

• 

  A Soviet-era (1960s) New Year tree decoration depicting a cosmonaut

• 

  A makeshift cardboard Christmas tree in Kabul, Afghanistan (2010)

• 

  A "globalized" Christmas tree in Hong Kong (Kelly Chen 2010)

Public Christmas trees[link]

Since the early 20th century, it has become common in many cities, towns, and department stores to put up public Christmas trees outdoors, such as the Rich's Great Tree in Atlanta (since 1948), the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in New York City, and the large Christmas tree at Victoria Square in Adelaide.

The United States' National Christmas Tree has been lit each year since 1923 on the South Lawn of the White House. Today,^{[clarification needed]} the lighting of the National Christmas Tree is part of what has become a major holiday event at the White House. President Jimmy Carter lit only the crowning star atop the tree in 1979 in honour of the Americans being held hostage in Iran.^[20] The same was true in 1980, except that the tree was fully lit for 417 seconds, one second for each day the hostages had been in captivity.^[20]

During most of the 1970s and 1980s, the largest decorated Christmas tree in the world was put up every year on the property of The National Enquirer in Lantana, Florida. This tradition grew into one of the most spectacular and celebrated events in the history of southern Florida, but was discontinued on the death of the paper's founder in the late 1980s.^[21]

In some cities, a Festival of Trees is organized around the decoration and display of multiple trees as charity events. In some cases the trees represent special commemorative gifts, such as in Trafalgar Square in London, where the City of Oslo, Norway presents a tree to the people of London as a token of appreciation for the British support of Norwegian resistance during the Second World War; in Boston, where the tree is a gift from the province of Nova Scotia, in thanks for rapid deployment of supplies and rescuers to the 1917 ammunition ship explosion that levelled the city of Halifax; and in Newcastle upon Tyne, where the main civic Christmas tree is an annual gift from the city of Bergen, Norway, in thanks for the part played by soldiers from Newcastle in liberating Bergen from Nazi occupation.^[22] Norway also annually gifts a Christmas tree to Washington D.C. as a symbol of friendship between Norway and the US and as an expression of gratitude from Norway for the help received from the US during World War II.^[23]

Customs and traditions[link]

Setting up and taking down[link]

A candle on a Christmas tree

Both setting up and taking down a Christmas tree are associated with specific dates. Traditionally, Christmas trees were not brought in and decorated until Christmas Eve (24 December)^{[citation needed]} or, in the traditions celebrating Christmas Eve rather than on the first of day of Christmas, 23 December, and then removed the day after twelfth night (5 January); to have a tree up before or after these dates was even considered bad luck.^{[citation needed]}

Many families in the U.S. and Canada will put up a Christmas tree soon after Thanksgiving (the 4th Thursday of November in the U.S.), and Christmas decorations can show up even earlier in retail stores, often the day after Halloween (31 October). Some households do not put up the tree until the second week of December, and leave it up until 6 January (Epiphany). In Germany, traditionally the tree is put up on 24 December and taken down on 7 January, though many start one or two weeks earlier, and in Roman Catholic homes the tree may be kept until late January.

In Italy the Christmas tree is put up on 8 December (Immaculate Conception day) and left up until 6 January. In Australia, the Christmas tree is usually put up on 1 December^{[citation needed]}, which occurs about a week before the school summer holidays; except for South Australia, where most people put up their tree after the Adelaide Christmas Pageant in late November^{[citation needed]}. Some traditions suggest that Christmas trees may be kept up until no later than 2 February, the feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple (Candlemas), when the Christmas season effectively closes.^[24] Superstitions say that it is a bad sign if Christmas greenery is not removed by Candlemas Eve.^[25]

Decoration[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

A bauble decorating a Christmas tree

Tinsel and several types of garland or ribbon are commonly used to decorate a Christmas tree. Silvered saran based tinsel was introduced later.

Delicate mould-blown and painted coloured glass Christmas ornaments were a speciality of the glass factories in the Thuringian Forest especially in Lauscha in the late 19th century, and have since become a large industry, complete with famous-name designers. Baubles are another common decoration, consisting of small hollow glass or plastic spheres coated with a thin metallic layer to make them reflective, with a further coating of a thin pigmented polymer in order to provide colouration.

Lighting with electric lights (fairy lights) is commonly done. A tree topper, traditionally either an angel or a star, completes the ensemble.

Individuals' decorations typically include a mix of family traditions and personal tastes; even a small unattractive ornament, if passed down from a parent or grandparent, may come to carry considerable emotional value and be given a place of pride on the tree. Conversely, trees decorated by professional designers for department stores and other institutions will usually have a "theme"; a set of predominant colours, multiple instances of each type of ornament, and larger decorations that may be more complicated to set up correctly. Some churches decorate with Chrismon trees, which use handmade ornaments depicting various Chrismon symbols.

Many people also decorate outdoor trees with food that birds and other wildlife will enjoy, such as garlands made from unsalted popcorn or cranberries, orange halves, and seed-covered suet cakes.

Because candles were used to light trees until electric bulbs came about, a mat (UK) or skirt (US) was often placed on the floor below the tree to protect it by catching the dripping candle wax, and also to collect any needles that fell. Even when dripless candles, electric lights and artificial trees have been used, a skirt is still usually used as a decorative feature: among other things, it hides the Christmas tree stand, which may be unsightly but which is an important safety feature of home trees. What began as ordinary cloth has now often become much more ornate, some having embroidery or being put together like a quilt.

A nativity scene, model train, or Christmas village may be placed on the mat or skirt. As Christmas presents arrive, they are generally placed underneath the tree on the tree skirt (depending on tradition, all Christmas gifts, or those too large to be hung on the tree, as in "presents on the tree" of the song "I'll Be Home for Christmas").

Generally, the difference between a mat and skirt is simply that a mat is placed under the Christmas tree stand, while a skirt is placed over it, having a hole in the middle for the trunk, with a slot cut to the outside edge so that it can be placed around the tree (beneath the branches) easily. A plain mat of fabric or plastic may also be placed under the stand and skirt to protect the floor from scratches or water.

A Christmas tree stand is an object designed to support a cut, natural Christmas tree or an artificial Christmas tree. Christmas tree stands appeared as early as 1876 and have had various designs over the years. Those stands designed for natural trees have a water reservoir to hydrate the live tree. Artificial Christmas trees usually have a plastic or metal stand, with 3 legs shaping like a Y.

In the 1940s and 1950s flocking was very popular on the west coast of the United States. There were home flocking kits that could be used with vacuum cleaners. In the 1980s some trees were sprayed with fluffy white flocking to simulate snow. Typically it would be sprayed all over the tree from the sides, which produced a look different from real snow, which settles in clumps atop branches. Flocking can be done with a professional sprayer at a tree lot (or an artificial tree's manufacturer), or at home from a spray can. This tradition seems to be most popular on the west coast and southern parts of the United States. Because flock contains flame retardants, a flocked tree can be placed in a public building in accordance with local fire codes.

In the late 1800s and, most probably, long before, home-made white Christmas trees were made by wrapping strips of cotton batting around leafless branches creating the appearance of a snow-laden tree. This family tradition eliminated killing and care of a live tree and needle drop in the house while providing a beautiful way of displaying ornaments. After Christmas, the cotton batting was unwrapped and stored with the Christmas presents and the branches were burnt or discarded. It is thought these home-made white trees at least, in part, inspired flocking popularized by Hollywood films in the late 1930s.

Production[link]

Each year, 33 to 36 million Christmas trees are produced in America, and 50 to 60 million are produced in Europe. In 1998, there were about 15,000 growers in America (a third of them "choose and cut" farms). In that same year, it was estimated that Americans spent $1.5 billion on Christmas trees.^[26]

Father and son collecting a tree in the forest, painting by Franz Krüger (1797–1857)

Trees on sale at a Christmas market in Vienna, painting by Carl Wenzel Zajicek (1908)

Natural trees[link]

The most commonly used species are fir (Abies), which have the benefit of not shedding their needles when they dry out, as well as retaining good foliage colour and scent; but species in other genera are also used.

In northern Europe most commonly used are:

• Norway Spruce Picea abies (the original tree, generally the cheapest)
• Silver Fir Abies alba
• Nordmann Fir Abies nordmanniana
• Noble Fir Abies procera

• Serbian Spruce Picea omorika
• Scots Pine Pinus sylvestris
• Stone Pine Pinus pinea (as small table-top trees)
• Swiss Pine Pinus cembra

In North America, Central America and South America most commonly used are:

• Douglas-fir Pseudotsuga menziesii
• Balsam Fir Abies balsamea
• Fraser Fir Abies fraseri
• Grand Fir Abies grandis
• Guatemalan Fir Abies guatemalensis
• Noble Fir Abies procera
• Red Fir Abies magnifica
• White Fir Abies concolor
• Pinyon Pine Pinus edulis
• Jeffrey Pine Pinus jeffreyi
• Scots Pine Pinus sylvestris
• Stone Pine Pinus pinea (as small table-top trees)
• Norfolk Island Pine Araucaria heterophylla

Several other species are used to a lesser extent. Less-traditional conifers are sometimes used, such as Giant Sequoia, Leyland Cypress, Monterey Cypress and Eastern Juniper. Various types of spruce tree are also used for Christmas trees (including the Blue Spruce and, less commonly, the White Spruce); but spruces (unlike firs) begin to lose their needles rapidly upon being cut, and spruce needles are often sharp, making decorating uncomfortable. Virginia Pine is still available on some tree farms in the southeastern United States, however its winter colour is faded. The long-needled Eastern White Pine is also used there, though it is an unpopular Christmas tree in most parts of the country, owing also to its faded winter coloration and limp branches, making decorating difficult with all but the lightest ornaments. Norfolk Island Pine is sometimes used, particularly in Oceania, and in Australia, some species of the genera Casuarina and Allocasuarina are also occasionally used as Christmas trees. But, by far, the most common tree is the Monterey Pine. Adenanthos sericeus or Albany Woolly Bush is commonly sold in southern Australia as a potted living Christmas tree. Hemlock species are generally considered unsuitable as Christmas trees due to their poor needle retention and inability to support the weight of lights and ornaments.

Some trees, frequently referred to as "living Christmas trees", are sold live with roots and soil, often from a nursery, to be stored at nurseries in planters or planted later outdoors and enjoyed (and often decorated) for years or decades. Others are produced in a container and sometimes as topiary for a porch or patio. However, when done improperly, the combination of root loss caused by digging, and the indoor environment of high temperature and low humidity is very detrimental to the tree's health; additionally, the warmth of an indoor climate will bring the tree out of its natural winter dormancy, leaving it little protection when put back outside into a cold outdoor climate. Often Christmas trees are a large attraction for living animals, including mice and spiders. Thus, the survival rate of these trees is low.^[27] However when done properly, replanting provides higher survival rates.^[28]

European tradition prefers the open aspect of naturally-grown, unsheared trees, while in North America (outside western areas where trees are often wild-harvested on public lands^[29]) there is a preference for close-sheared trees with denser foliage, but less space to hang decorations.

In the past, Christmas trees were often harvested from wild forests, but now almost all are commercially grown on tree farms. Almost all Christmas trees in the United States are grown on Christmas tree farms where they are cut after about ten years of growth and new trees planted. According to the United States Department of Agriculture' agriculture census for 2002, 21,904 farms were producing conifers for the cut Christmas tree market in America, 180,897 hectares (447,006 acres) were planted in Christmas trees, and 13,849 farms harvested cut trees.^[30]

The life cycle of a Christmas tree from the seed to a 2-metre (7 ft) tree takes, depending on species and treatment in cultivation, between 8 and 12 years. First, the seed is extracted from cones harvested from older trees. These seeds are then usually grown in nurseries and then sold to Christmas tree farms at an age of 3–4 years. The remaining development of the tree greatly depends on the climate, soil quality, as well as the cultivation and tendance by the Christmas tree farmer.^[31]

Artificial trees[link]

A lit up artificial Christmas tree with ornaments (Yatharth Gupta 2010)

The first artificial Christmas trees were developed in Germany during the 19th century,^[32][33] though earlier examples exist.^[34] These "trees" were made using goose feathers that were dyed green.^[32] The German feather trees were one response by Germans to continued deforestation in Germany.^[33] Feather Christmas trees ranged widely in size, from a small 2-inch (51 mm) tree to a large 98-inch (2,500 mm) tree sold in department stores during the 1920s.^[35] Often, the tree branches were tipped with artificial red berries which acted as candle holders.^[36]

Over the years, other styles of artificial Christmas trees have evolved and become popular. In 1930, the U.S.-based Addis Brush Company created the first artificial Christmas tree made from brush bristles.^[37] Another type of artificial tree is the aluminum Christmas tree.^[33] The trees were manufactured in the United States, first in Chicago in 1958,^[38] and later in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, where the majority of the trees were produced.^[39] Most modern artificial Christmas trees are made from plastic recycled from used packaging materials, such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or other plastics.^[33] Approximately 10% of artificial Christmas trees are using virgin suspension PVC resin; despite being plastic most artificial trees are not recyclable or biodegradable.^[40]

A tree with fibre optic lights (Sean O'Flaherty 2005)

Other gimmicks have developed as well. Fiber optic Christmas trees come in two major varieties; one resembles a traditional Christmas tree.^[41] One Dallas-based company offers "holographic mylar" trees in many hues.^[34] Tree-shaped objects made from such materials as cardboard,^[42] glass,^[43] ceramic or other materials can be found in use as tabletop decorations. Upside-down artificial Christmas trees became popular for a short time and were originally introduced as a marketing gimmick; they allowed consumers to get closer to ornaments for sale in retail stores and opened up floor space for more products.^[44]

Artificial trees became increasingly popular during the late 20th century.^[33] Users of artificial Christmas trees assert that they are more convenient, and, because they are reusable, much cheaper than their natural alternative.^[33] They are also considered much safer^[45] as natural trees can be a significant fire hazard. Between 2001 and 2007 artificial Christmas tree sales in the U.S. jumped from 7.3 million to 17.4 million.^[46]

Environmental issues[link]

An artificial Christmas tree

The debate about the environmental impact of artificial trees is ongoing. Generally, natural tree growers contend that artificial trees are more environmentally harmful than their natural counterparts.^[46] However, trade groups such as the American Christmas Tree Association, continue to refute that artificial trees are more harmful to the environment, and maintain that the PVC used in Christmas trees has excellent recyclable properties.^[47]

Christmas tree recycling point (point recyclage de sapins) in Paris, France (22 January 2010)

Live trees are typically grown as a crop and replanted in rotation after cutting, often providing suitable habitat for wildlife.^{[citation needed]} In some cases management of Christmas tree crops can result in poor habitat since it sometimes involves heavy input of pesticides.^{[citation needed]} Concerns have been raised about people cutting down old and rare conifers, such as the Keteleeria evelyniana, for Christmas trees. Real or cut trees are used only for a short time, but can be recycled and used as mulch or used to prevent erosion.^[48] Real trees are carbon-neutral, they emit no more carbon dioxide by being cut down and disposed of than they absorb while growing.^[49] An independent life-cycle assessment study, conducted by a firm of experts in sustainable development, states that a natural tree will generate 3.1 kg of greenhouse gases every year (based on purchasing 5 km from home) whereas the artificial tree will produce 48.3 kg over its lifetime.^[50] Some people use living Christmas or potted trees for several seasons, providing a longer life cycle for each tree. Living Christmas trees can be purchased or rented from local market growers. Rentals are picked up after the holidays, while purchased trees can be planted by the owner after use or donated to local tree adoption or urban reforestation services.^[51]

Most artificial trees are made of recycled PVC rigid sheets using tin stabilizer in the recent years. In the past, lead was often used as a stabilizer in PVC, but is now banned by Chinese laws.^{[citation needed]} The use of lead stabilizer in Chinese imported trees has been an issue of concern among politicians and scientists over recent years. A 2004 study found that while in general artificial trees pose little health risk from lead contamination, there do exist "worst-case scenarios" where major health risks to young children exist.^[52] A 2008 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report found that as the PVC in artificial Christmas trees aged it began to degrade.^[53] The report determined that of the 50 million artificial trees in the United States approximately 20 million were 9 or more years old, the point where dangerous lead contamination levels are reached.^[53] A professional study on the life-cycle assessment of both real and artificial Christmas trees revealed that one must use an artificial Christmas tree at least during 20 years to leave an environmental footprint as small as the natural Christmas tree.^[50] A small amount of real-tree material is used in some artificial trees. For instance, the bark of a real tree can be used to surface an artificial trunk.^[54]

Secular vs. religious nature[link]

Syncretising traditions in Northern Spain, the Bilbao airport displays a Christmas tree and a Santa Claus and Christmas elf alongside the Basque Olentzero (6 January 2005).

The Christmas tree's origins are secular, but it is associated with the celebration of the Christmas holidays, so there has been some amount of debate as to whether it should be considered a secular or a religious custom.^{[clarification needed]}

• It has been rejected as a "pagan" tradition that should not be associated with the Christian religious celebration of Christmas.
• It has been rejected as a "Christian" tradition that should not be allowed to be endorsed in secular contexts in countries that have a separation of church and state.
• As a custom arising in Protestant parts of Germany, it has been rejected as a "Protestant" custom in Catholic countries, detracting from the Mediterranean traditions of the Christmas crib.^[55]

Pope John Paul II introduced the Christmas tree custom to the Vatican in 1982.^[56] Although at first disapproved of by some as out of place at the centre of the Roman Catholic Church, the Christmas tree has become an integral part of the Vatican Christmas celebrations,^[55] and in 2005 Pope Benedict XVI spoke of it as part of the normal Christmas decorations in Catholic homes.^[57] In 2004, Pope John Paul called the Christmas tree a symbol of Christ. This very ancient custom, he said, exalts the value of life, as in winter what is evergreen becomes a sign of undying life, and it reminds Christians of the "tree of life" of Genesis 2:9, an image of Christ, the supreme gift of God to humanity.^[58] In the previous year he said: "Beside the crib, the Christmas tree, with its twinkling lights, reminds us that with the birth of Jesus the tree of life has blossomed anew in the desert of humanity. The crib and the tree: precious symbols, which hand down in time the true meaning of Christmas."^[59] The Catholic Church's official Book of Blessings has a service for the blessing of the Christmas tree in a home.^[60]

In 2005, the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport removed all of its Christmas trees in the middle of the night rather than allow a rabbi to put up a menorah near the largest tree display.^[61] Officials feared that one display would open the door for other religious displays,^[61] and, in 2006, they opted to display a grove of birches in polyethylene terephthalate snow rather than religious symbols or Christmas trees.^[61] In 2005, the city of Boston renamed the spruce tree used to decorate the Boston Common a "Holiday Tree" rather than a "Christmas Tree".^[62] The name change drew a poor response from the public and it was reversed after the city was threatened with several lawsuits.^[63]

See also[link]

References[link]