Perhaps there will always be Christmas trees as long as the world keeps turning. The tradition stems from pagan customs of burning bonfires to tempt the sun back from its long winter rest. And there is no sign of the end to this beautiful tradition. Here are some fun historical facts about the industry:
· Christmas trees are grown in all 50 states including Hawaii and Alaska.
· 100,000 people are employed in the Christmas tree industry.
· 98 percent of all Christmas trees are grown on farms.
· In 1856 Franklin Pierce, the 14th President of the United States, was the
first President to place a Christmas tree in the White House.
· In 2002, 21% of United States households had a real
tree, 48% had an artificial tree and 32% had not tree.
· 73 million new Christmas trees will be planted this year.
· More than 330,000 real Christmas trees are sold via e-commerce or catalogs.
· In 2002, 32 percent of Christmas trees displayed in United States were real trees; 49% were fake trees.
· On average, over 2,000 Christmas trees are planted per acre.
· Nineteenth century Americans cut their trees in nearby forests.
· Thomas Edison’s assistant, Edward Johnson, came up with the idea of electric lights for Christmas trees in 1882.
· Christmas tree lights were first mass produced in 1890.
· In 1963, the National Christmas Tree was not lighted until December 22nd because of a national 30-day period of mourning following the assassination of President Kennedy.
· Teddy Roosevelt banned the Christmas tree from the White House for environmental reasons.
Families can bring the perfect tree home from local Christmas tree store! Or even order a Christmas tree online and have it shipped to you! It is true that Christmas trees have been a major, long lasting part of Christmas tradition for virtually countless years.
Anne Clarke writes numerous articles for websites on gardening, parenting, recreation, education and décor. Her background includes teaching and gardening. For more of her articles about holiday shopping, please visit Christmas Stores.
Source: www.ezinearticles.com
