The Christmas Eve Tree

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Bear in mind whether you are opting for a real or artificial tree, though. The warm atmosphere of a home isn’t ideal for a real tree, so ask yourself how long you want to keep up with the watering it needs to stay looking full. You may want to hold off on putting up the Christmas tree for a little while as this will be regular chore. Does putting up your Christmas tree make you happier? Christmas Tree 'skirts' started as Christmas Tree 'carpets'. They were made from heavy fabric, often decorated and with fancy frills around the edges, and were used either on the floor, or on tables, and went under the trees and their stands - rather than 'around' them. They were used to catch the needles from the trees and also protect the floor or table tops from dripping wax coming from the candles on the trees.

Christmas ornaments are decorations (usually made of glass, metal, wood, or ceramics) that are used to decorate a Christmas tree. The first decorated trees were adorned with apples, white candy canes and pastries in the shapes of stars, hearts and flowers. Glass baubles were first made in Lauscha, Germany, and also garlands of glass beads and tin figures that could be hung on trees. The popularity of these decorations fueled the production of glass figures made by highly skilled artisans with clay molds. In 2005, the city of Boston renamed the spruce tree used to decorate the Boston Common a "Holiday Tree" rather than a "Christmas Tree". [158] The name change was reversed after the city was threatened with several lawsuits. [159] St. Nicholas first entered American popular culture in the late 18th century in New York, when Dutch families gathered to honor the anniversary of the death of “Sint Nikolaas” (Dutch for Saint Nicholas), or “Sinter Klaas” for short. “Santa Claus” draws his name from this abbreviation. Haidle, Helen (2002). Christmas Legends to Remember' . David C Cook. p. 119. ISBN 978-1-56292-534-5.

Foley, Michael P. (6 September 2022). Why We Kiss under the Mistletoe: Christmas Traditions Explained. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-68451-281-2. In the Western Christian tradition, Christmas trees are variously erected on days such as the first day of Advent or even as late as Christmas Eve depending on the country; [10] customs of the same faith hold that the two traditional days when Christmas decorations, such as the Christmas tree, are removed are Twelfth Night and, if they are not taken down on that day, Candlemas, the latter of which ends the Christmas-Epiphany season in some denominations. [10] [11] The pilgrims, English separatists that came to America in 1620, were even more orthodox in their Puritan beliefs than Cromwell. As a result, Christmas was not a holiday in early America. From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was actually outlawed in Boston. Anyone exhibiting the Christmas spirit was fined five shillings. By contrast, in the Jamestown settlement, Captain John Smith reported that Christmas was enjoyed by all and passed without incident. Artificial trees became increasingly popular during the late 20th century. [118] Users of artificial Christmas trees assert that they are more convenient, and, because they are reusable, much cheaper than their natural alternative. [118] They are also considered much safer, [130] 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. [131] Currently, it is estimated that around 58% of Christmas trees used in the United States are artificial, while numbers in the United Kingdom are indicated to be around 66%. [132] Christmas tree recycling begins Friday in Columbia County". The Augusta Chronicle. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014 . Retrieved 26 December 2014.

All the versions of the story involve a poor family who can't afford to decorate a Tree for Christmas (in some versions the tree grew from a pine cone in their house, in others the family have bought a tree into the house). When the children go to sleep on Christmas Eve a spider covers the tree in cobwebs. Then on Christmas morning the cobwebs are magically turned into silver and gold strands which decorate the tree! 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 [...] Recycling your tree can be a gift for environment". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014 . Retrieved 26 December 2014. 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's agriculture census for 2007, 21,537 farms were producing conifers for the cut Christmas tree market in America, 5,717.09 square kilometres (1,412,724 acres) were planted in Christmas trees. [115] Evergreen trees (and other evergreen plants) have traditionally been used to celebrate winter festivals (pre-Christian/pagan and Christian) for thousands of years. Pre-Christian/Pagans used branches of evergreen trees to decorate their homes during the winter solstice, as it made them think of the spring to come. The Romans used Fir Trees to decorate their temples at the festival of Saturnalia. However, they were quite different to what we now think of as Christmas Trees.Karal Ann Marling (2000). Merry Christmas! Celebrating America's greatest holiday. Harvard University Press. p. 244. ISBN 978-0-674-00318-7.

Godfrey and Margaret Scheele (1977). The Prince Consort, Man of many Facets: The World and The Age of Prince Albert. Oresko Books. p.78. ISBN 9780905368061. Candice Gaukel Andrews (2006). Great Wisconsin Winter Weekends. Big Earth Publishing. p.178. ISBN 978-1-9315-9971-9. Less expensive tree holders also became available and were made out of cheaper metals (and they also didn't look so good), so the 'carpets' became smaller and were also put 'around' the tree holders and became the Christmas tree skirts that we have today. Create a handmade advent calendar, filled with activities or treats that relate to what your kid really loves doing. It's time to ditch the chocolate! Some people say this is the same tree as the 'Riga' tree, but it isn't! The story about Martin Luther seems to date to about 1536 and Riga tree originally took place a couple of decades earlier.According to The Guinness World Records, the tallest cut Christmas tree was a 67.36m (221 ft) Douglas fir setup at the Northgate Shopping Center in Seattle, Washington, USA, in December 1950. The tallest artificial Christmas tree was 72.1m (236.5ft) tall and was made by the Arjuna Ranatunga Social Services (Sri Lanka), in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 24 December 2016. There is a new trend for Christmas Eve boxes, filled with pjs and other goodies to start the fun early.