Some Christmas traditions don’t seem strange to us because they are so familiar. In the previous post 8 Truly Strange Christmas Customs, the Christmas tree did not appear, although the act of bringing a tree inside and covering it with toys and candy is quite strange. After all, didn’t we move inside to get away from the trees?
Christmas Tree History
Bringing evergreens into the house is a tradition that goes back to ancient times. In the Middle Ages, trees were decorated with apples to illustrate the story of Adam and Eve. Legends say illuminated Christmas trees began with Martin Luther, although there is evidence of earlier lighted trees. The first decorated holiday tree was recorded in 1510 in Riga, Latvia, to celebrate the new year. Image credit: Patricia LTD, Riga.
Candle Lighted Trees
Before Thomas Edison introduced electric tree lights at a neighbor’s home in 1882, Christmas trees were lighted by candles. I had to decide whether to describe these as “lighted” trees or “lit” trees, and decided that the word “lit” implied a tree on fire, which many eventually were. Candles were either clipped to tree branches or stabilized by counterweights, which could be painted like ornaments.
Continue reading for more relatively contemporary Christmas tree fashions.
Feather Trees
The first artificial Christmas trees were made of feathers! They originated in Germany in the 1840s due to deforestation. They were mostly made of goose feathers, with turkey, ostrich, and swan feather trees also available. German immigrants brought their trees to America, where they became somewhat popular, but cut Christmas trees remained the overwhelming choice until synthetic materials became affordable after World War II.
Aluminum Trees
From Sputnik to Apollo, the hippest Christmas tree for the Space Age was aluminum. In 1959, the Aluminum Specialty Company introduced the shiny all-metal Christmas tree to the public, and sales took off for the next decade or so. Other colors became available, since a pink or gold tree was just as acceptable as a silver colored tree. These “permanent” trees (the term “artificial” was only used later) had to be lit externally, since the metal was too dangerous for wired lights. The Color Wheel was a lamp with a rotating disc over the light that shone different colors onto your tree. Groovy! The decline in aluminum tree sales is attributed to Charlie Brown, who lamented the commercialism of Christmas (and mentioned aluminum trees) in the 1965 special A Charlie Brown Christmas. Today, you can see aluminum trees at, and purchase them from ATOM, the Aluminum Tree and Ornament Museum. Image by Flickr user NCreedplayer.
Upside-down Christmas Trees
First seen in 2005, the upside-down tree has some advantages over a normal tree. The ornaments hang off the tree instead of into it, the better to be seen. Gifts piled underneath are not obscured by branches. You don’t need to reserve as much floor space as you would for traditional tree. And if it is hung from the ceiling, it can be put out of reach of children and pets. Upside-down tree advocates will remind you that some Christmas trees were hung upside down in the Middle Ages. However, this style is both difficult and weird. The tree shown is sold out at Hammacher Schlemmer.
Eco-Trees
At some point, most people wonder how environmentally-friendly the Christmas tree custom is. Many people switched over to artificial trees in the 70s and 80s to save cutting a tree every year. This made sense in the days when wild trees were cut for Christmas, but in the 21st century around 98% of real trees are grown on farms for Christmas use. Most artificial trees are made of plastic, use resources in their manufacture, and are discarded in landfills. The best advice is to use your existing artificial tree as long as possible, then don’t replace it. Living trees can be planted after the holidays, but you need to take care to select a proper place for planting, dig a hole before the ground freezes, and keep it alive while in use. Discarded cut trees can and should be properly recycled. Cut trees can be made into mulch or compost, or used in lakes as fish hatcheries.
Outside Trees
The current trend in Christmas trees seems to be artificial lighted trees set outdoors! It’s a full turnaround from bringing real trees inside. Image by Flickr user kpishdadi.
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Louisiana residents: Remember to recycle your Christmas tree!
posted by Stephanie on 12-16-2008 at 11:24 am
I love the upside down tree! It would be like having Christmas with Dr. Seuss or something!
posted by Tricia on 12-16-2008 at 12:07 pm
As for recycling real trees, an easy way to do it is to toss it in the woods near your home (if you have woods near your home). Birds and other small animals will use it as a shelter. And since it will rot away on it’s own (or biodegrade, if you prefer) it’s eco-friendly!
posted by Amy D on 12-16-2008 at 1:51 pm
Nice post! My grandmom still puts up a teeny-tiny silver aluminum tree.
posted by andiscandis on 12-16-2008 at 2:05 pm
If you have never put a dessicated Christmas Tree on the New Year’s bonfire it is highly recomended. One fine flame out.
posted by teo on 12-16-2008 at 2:12 pm
I have a vintage aluminum tree that I got as a gift several years ago. It’s a 4 footer and it’s a pom pom tree, so the “needles” flare out at the ends of all of the branches, sort of like pom poms, but more like trumpets really. It came in it’s original box which had it’s original price written on it in pencil — I think it was like $2.37 or something. Probably a fair amount of money for a Christmas decoration in the 50′s, but still, they’ve really appreciated in value. Even small ones are hard to find under $100 in antiques stores.
I don’t have a color wheel for mine, and they’re almost as expensive as the trees, so I use a Glade Light Show scented oil plug in thing and it works pretty well. It lights the tree and gives my apartment a christmasy scent all at once.
Click my name for a great site about aluminum trees.
reCaptcha: Brassies Disputed
posted by Brooke on 12-16-2008 at 2:44 pm
I’ve seen fiber optic trees also – very retro.
posted by Diana on 12-16-2008 at 2:46 pm
To follow up on Stephanie’s admonition to Louisiana residents to recycle their Christmas trees, I wanted to explain why.
The Christmas Tree Fence Program uses Christmas trees to help protect the state’s coastal wetlands. About half a million trees have already been used in erosion-control projects since the program began. Typically, a Christmas tree fence, or “pen”, is constructed in a shallow open-water area. Then the Christmas trees are placed into the pen. It helps keep sediment from washing out into the Gulf of Mexico. As there are 4.1 million acres of marsh on Louisiana’s southern boarder, it takes a lot of trees to fill up the pens.
Pictures can be seen through the link on my name.
posted by Lindsey on 12-17-2008 at 10:26 am
Or you can toss the tree off the 20th floor of your stepdad’s old apartment complex into the dumpster.
posted by Andy on 12-20-2010 at 8:13 am
Outdoor… artificial… trees…. the world is going mad I say!
posted by Zach on 12-20-2010 at 10:21 am
I love the upside down trees! Then again we once had a black christmas tree. It was beautiful decorated completely in silver.
posted by MetalRose on 12-20-2010 at 11:37 am
If you are going to recycle your tree, may I suggest that you stop buying those nasty tinsel icicles? They are a terrible pain to get out of trees, bad for pets, and they are just shiny plastic garbage. Instead, invest in some real twisted tin strip tinsel ornaments. They catch the light beautifully and are reusable! Lee Valley has plain ones and colored ones.
posted by Mare on 12-20-2010 at 1:41 pm
I have my first LIVE Christmas tree this year! It smells amazing and looks great! can’t wait to recycle it after the new year! quick question…how long is it OK to leave your tree up?
posted by megaroo on 12-20-2010 at 2:40 pm
If it’s alive, you’ll want to take it down the day after Christmas and plant it. I hope you have a hole already dug! If it’s a “formerly-live” tree, take it down as soon as it starts to feel dry and brittle.
Either way, be sure to keep the stem (or root ball) watered.
posted by Miss Cellania on 12-20-2010 at 4:13 pm
@Megaroo: 12 days after Christmas, the festival of Epiphany, is the official end of the liturgical season of Christmas.
posted by Zach on 12-20-2010 at 4:17 pm
Correct you are, Zach. That why the song is “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, not “The Twelve Weeks Before Christmas”.
-”BB”-
posted by Bicycle Bill on 12-21-2011 at 5:57 am
My mother insists we never owned anything as tacky (in her opinion) as an aluminum Xmas tree. Family photos beg to differ. I adore those shiny trees, they conjure up some serious nostalgia for me.
posted by Ronda Lamm on 12-21-2011 at 8:32 am
I always wanted the Christmas decorated palm tree the local Christmas store had.
posted by They Call Me Bruce on 12-21-2011 at 10:24 am
My wife and I have been using the same “Famous Christmas tree” for 41 years. Table sized, we store it every year with the decorations on. It’s getting difficult to find replacement lights but the originals are holding up very nicely.
posted by Ken on 12-21-2011 at 3:23 pm
Growing up we always had a white ‘flocked’ tree with bluish silver ornaments and one of those color wheels. When I left home I couldn’t wait to have my very own Green Christmas tree.
posted by notmycat on 12-21-2011 at 6:21 pm