Christmas Tree Historical Facts, Figures and Trivia

Interesting Information about Christmas Trees

• According to the National Christmas Tree Association, Americans buy 37.1 million real Christmas trees each year; 25 percent of them are from the nation's 5,000 choose-and-cut farms.
• All Christmas trees are grown from seed - pines, firs and spruces are ancient varieties of trees, and never developed the ability to grow from cuttings.
• All trees are hand pruned every year to improve their shape and ensure that Christmas trees are conical
• America's official national Christmas tree is located in King's Canyon National Park in California. The tree, a giant sequoia called the "General Grant Tree," is over 300 feet (90 meters) high. It was made the official Christmas tree in 1925.
• An acre of Christmas trees provides for the daily oxygen requirements of 18 people.
• Artificial trees will last for six years in your home, but for centuries in a landfill.
• By 1850, the Christmas tree had become fashionable in the eastern states. Until this time, it had been considered a quaint foreign custom.
• California, Oregon, Michigan, Washington, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and North Carolina are the top Christmas tree producing states. Oregon is the leading producer of Christmas trees - 8.6 million in 1998.
• Charles Minnegrode introduced the custom of decorating trees in Williamsburg, irginia in 1842.
• Christmas tree lights were first mass produced in 1890.
• Christmas trees - British people started putting trees in their houses when Queen Victoria's husband Albert brought the idea over from Germany in 1841.
• Christmas trees are edible. Many parts of pines, spruces, and firs can be eaten. The needles are a good source of vitamin C. Pine nuts, or pine cones, are also a good source of nutrition.
• Christmas trees are known to have been popular in Germany as far back as the sixteenth century. In England, they became popular after Queen Victoria's husband Albert, who came from Germany, made a tree part of the celebrations at Windsor Castle. In the United States, the earliest known mention of a Christmas tree is in the diary of a German who settled in Pennsylvania.
• Christmas trees received their first written acknowledgement in Germany in 1531.
• Christmas trees remove dust and pollen from the air.
• Christmas trees such a Douglas fir and Evergreen are grown in all 50 states of America.
• Christmas trees take an average of 7-10 years to mature.
• Christmas trees were sold in Alsace in 1531. Alsace was at that time a part of Germany. Today it is part of France. The trees were sold at local markets and set up in homes undecorated.
• Different types of Christmas tree are used in different parts of the country/world for example the Scots Pine is more popular in the North of England than the south.
• Each year approximately 35million Christmas trees are produced.
• For every real Christmas tree harvested, 2 to 3 seedlings are planted in its place.
• In the first week, a tree in your home will consume as much as 2 pints of water per day.
• Recycled trees have been used to make sand and soil erosion barriers and been placed in ponds for fish shelter.
• The best selling tree is the Nordman Fir Christmas tree due it's excellent needle retention
• The most common tree sold is now the Nordmann fir.
• The oldest record of a decorated Christmas tree came from a 1605 diary found in Strasburg, France (Germany in 1605). The tree was decorated with paper roses, apples and candies.
• There are more than 10 different varieties of Christmas tree grown in the UK.

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