77-685: Abies procera , the noble fir , also called red fir and Christmas tree , is a species of fir native to the Cascade Range and Pacific Coast Ranges of the northwestern Pacific Coast of the United States . It occurs at altitudes of 300–1,500 meters (980–4,920 ft). A. procera is a large evergreen conifer with a narrow conic crown, growing up to 70 meters (230 ft) tall and 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in trunk diameter, rarely to 90 m (295 ft) tall and 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) thick. The bark on young trees
154-463: A Christmas party for the officers at Sorel , Quebec, delighting their guests with a fir tree decorated with candles and fruits. The Christmas tree became very common in the United States of America in the early 19th century. Dating from late 1812 or early 1813, the watercolor sketchbooks of John Lewis Krimmel contain perhaps the earliest depictions of a Christmas tree in American art, representing
231-494: 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 . Both setting up and taking down a Christmas tree are associated with specific dates; liturgically, this is done through the hanging of the greens ceremony. In many areas, it has become customary to set up one's Christmas tree on Advent Sunday ,
308-755: A Christmas tree was placed in the Cathedral of Strasbourg in 1539 under the leadership of the Protestant Reformer Martin Bucer . The Moravian Christians put lighted candles on those trees." The earliest known firmly dated representation of a Christmas tree is on the keystone sculpture of a private home in Turckheim , Alsace (then part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation , today part of France), with
385-543: A German immigrant to Boston, for being the first to introduce to America the custom of decorating a Christmas tree. In 1847, August Imgard, a German immigrant living in Wooster, Ohio 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, gilded nuts and Kuchen . German immigrant Charles Minnigerode accepted
462-589: 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. Other accounts credit Charles Follen ,
539-453: A charity was set up specifically to ensure even poor children in London slums "who had never seen a Christmas tree" would enjoy one that year. Anti-German sentiment after World War I briefly reduced their popularity but the effect was short-lived, and by the mid-1920s the use of Christmas trees had spread to all classes. In 1933, a restriction on the importation of foreign trees led to
616-463: A fairy tale called The Fir-Tree in 1844, recounting the fate of a fir tree being used as a Christmas tree. 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, expensive items at the time, are found in attestations from the late 18th century. Along the Lower Rhine , an area of Roman Catholic majority,
693-512: A family celebrating Christmas Eve in the Moravian tradition. The first published image of a Christmas tree appeared in 1836 as the frontispiece to The Stranger's Gift by Hermann Bokum. The first mention of the Christmas tree in American literature was in a story in the 1836 edition of The Token and Atlantic Souvenir , titled "New Year's Day", by Catherine Maria Sedgwick , where she tells
770-478: A newspaper advertisement for Christmas trees makes clear their smart cachet, German origins and association with children and gift-giving. An illustrated book, The Christmas Tree , describing their use and origins in detail, was on sale in December 1844. On 2 January 1846, Elizabeth Fielding (née Fox Strangways) wrote from Lacock Abbey to William Henry Fox-Talbot : "Constance is extremely busy preparing
847-656: A position as a professor of humanities at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia , 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
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#1732790254737924-501: A report picked up by other papers, described the trees in Windsor Castle in detail and showed the main tree, surrounded by the royal family, on its cover. In fewer than ten years, the adoption of the tradition in middle and upper-class homes was widespread. By 1856, a northern provincial newspaper contained an advert alluding casually to them, as well as reporting the accidental death of a woman whose dress caught fire as she lit
1001-780: A small coniferous tree. These pale-colored ornaments differ in height from 20 cm (7.9 in) to 3 meters (9.8 ft). Chichilakis are most common in the Guria and Samegrelo regions of Georgia near the Black Sea , but they can also be found in some stores around the capital of Tbilisi . Georgians believe that Chichilaki resembles the famous beard of St. Basil the Great , because Eastern Orthodox Church commemorates St. Basil on 1 January. The earliest reference of Christmas trees being used in The Bahamas dates to January 1864 and
1078-622: A small genus confined to eastern Asia. The genus name is derived from the Latin "to rise" in reference to the height of its species. The common English name originates with the Old Norse fyri or the Old Danish fyr . They are large trees, reaching heights of 10–80 metres (33–262 feet) tall with trunk diameters of 0.5–4 m (1 ft 8 in – 13 ft 1 in) when mature. Firs can be distinguished from other members of
1155-404: 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. 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
1232-533: A symbol of socialism and Slavic mythology , strongly associated with loyalty, courage, and dignity. However, spruce retained its popularity in Slovenian homes during those years and came back to public places after independence. Although the tradition of decorating churches and homes with evergreens at Christmas was long established, the custom of decorating an entire small tree was unknown in Britain until
1309-1773: A very attractive combination valued in ornamental trees. The oldest pollen assignable to the genus dates to the Late Cretaceous in Siberia, with records of leaves and reproductive organs across the Northern Hemisphere from the Eocene onwards. A. bracteata (Don) Poit. A. mariesii Masters A. amabilis (Douglas ex Loudon) Forbes A. procera Rehder A. magnifica Murray A. concolor (Gordon) Lindley ex Hildebr. A. jaliscana (Martínez) Mantilla, Shalisko & Vázquez A. guatemalensis Rehder A. hickelii Flous & Gaussen A. flinckii Rushforth A. vejarii Martínez A. durangensis Martínez A. religiosa (Kunth) von Schlechtendal & von Chamisso A. hidalgensis Debreczy, Rácz & Guízar A. grandis (Douglas ex Don) Lindley A. lowiana (Gordon) Murray A. alba Miller A. pinsapo Boiss. A. cephalonica Loudon A. nebrodensis (Lojac.) Mattei A. nordmanniana (Steven) Spach A. numidica de Lannoy ex Carrière A. ×borisii-regis Mattf. A. cilicica (Antoine & Kotschy) Carrière A. lasiocarpa (Hooker) Nuttall A. ernestii Rehder A. balsamea (von Linné) Miller A. firma Siebold & Zuccarini A. sibirica Ledeb. A. fanjingshanensis Huang, Tu & Fang A. ziyuanensis Fu & Mo Christmas tree A Christmas tree
1386-440: Is A. alba , and an example species with matt waxy leaves is A. concolor . The tips of leaves are usually more or less notched (as in A. firma ), but sometimes rounded or dull (as in A. concolor , A. magnifica ) or sharp and prickly (as in A. bracteata , A. cephalonica , A. holophylla ). The leaves of young plants are usually sharper. The leaves are arranged spirally on
1463-689: Is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer , such as a spruce , pine or fir , or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas . The custom was developed in Central Europe , particularly Germany and Livonia (now Estonia and Latvia ), where Protestant Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. The tree was traditionally decorated with "roses made of colored paper, apples , wafers , tinsel , [and] sweetmeats ". Moravian Christians began to illuminate Christmas trees with candles, which were often replaced by Christmas lights after
1540-491: 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 leveled the city of Halifax ; and in Newcastle upon Tyne , England, 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. Norway also annually gifts
1617-648: Is associated with the Anglican Sunday Schools in Nassau , New Providence: "After prayers and a sermon from the Rev. R. Swann, the teachers and children of St. Agnes', accompanied by those of St. Mary's, marched to the Parsonage of Rev. J. H. Fisher, in front of which a large Christmas tree had been planted for their gratification. The delighted little ones formed a circle around it singing 'Come follow me to
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#17327902547371694-629: Is largely hidden in noble fir. Red fir cones also mostly have shorter bracts, except in A. magnifica var. shastensis (Shasta red fir); this variety hybridizes with noble fir and may itself be a hybrid between noble fir and red fir. As opposed to Shasta red fir, noble fir is shade-intolerant , leaving its lower trunk branchless. Noble fir occurs with Douglas-fir and western hemlock at middle elevations, and with Pacific silver fir and mountain hemlock at higher elevations. It occurs in cool, humid areas similar to those occupied by Pacific silver fir. While it benefits from occasional disturbances (e.g.
1771-684: Is not much celebrated", whereas in Pennsylvania and New York it is. When Edward H. Johnson was vice president of the Edison Electric Light Company , a predecessor of Con Edison , he created the first known electrically illuminated Christmas tree at his home in New York City in 1882. Johnson became the "Father of Electric Christmas Tree Lights". The lyrics sung in the United States to the German tune O Tannenbaum begin "O Christmas tree...", giving rise to
1848-452: Is smooth and gray with resin blisters, becoming red-brown, rough and fissured on old trees, usually less than 5 centimeters (2 in) thick; the inner bark is reddish. The leaves are needle-like, 1–3.5 cm ( 1 ⁄ 2 – 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 in) long, glaucous blue-green above and below with strong stomal bands, and a blunt to notched tip. They are arranged spirally on the shoot, but twisted slightly S-shaped to be upcurved above
1925-517: Is unlucky to remove Christmas decorations, such as the Christmas tree, before Twelfth Night and, if they are not taken down on that day, it is appropriate to do so on Candlemas , the latter of which ends the Christmas-Epiphany season in some denominations . The Christmas tree is sometimes compared with the " Yule -tree", especially in discussions of its folkloric origins. Modern Christmas trees originated in Central Europe and
2002-507: Is used for specialized applications such as ladders, general structural purposes and paper manufacture. It may have been used for the frames of the Royal Air Force 's Mosquito bombers during World War II. David Douglas sent noble fir seeds to Britain in 1830, introducing it to horticulturalists. It is a popular and favored Christmas tree . The prostrate grey cultivar A. procera (Glauca Group) 'Glauca Prostrata' has gained
2079-485: The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens ), it is very susceptible to fire but is usually protected by its moist environment. It is relatively resistant to damage from wind, insects or diseases. Although the roots grow slowly, it can survive in very rocky soil as long as it is moist. The Paiute used the foliage to treat coughs and colds. The superior light and strong wood was recognized early by loggers, who called it "larch" to avoid conflating it with inferior firs. The wood
2156-592: The Baltic states , particularly Estonia , Germany and Livonia (now Latvia ) during the Renaissance in early modern Europe. Its 16th-century origins are sometimes associated with Protestant Christian reformer Martin Luther , who is said to have first added lighted candles to an evergreen tree. The Christmas tree was first recorded to be used by German Lutherans in the 16th century, with records indicating that
2233-541: The Bohemian Xmas Tree. It is made from Caroline's description of those she saw in Germany". 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". A boost to the trend was given in 1848 when The Illustrated London News , in
2310-514: The Congress of Vienna , 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 newspaper company 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 Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen in 1865. He had published
2387-611: 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 baubles . Fir trees decorated with apples served as the central prop for the paradise play, a kind of folk religious drama often performed on December 24. These props were called paradise trees, and some researchers believe they were
Abies procera - Misplaced Pages Continue
2464-693: The New Year holiday. It became a fully secular icon of the New Year holiday: for example, the crowning star was regarded not as a symbol of the 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
2541-501: The Royal Horticultural Society 's Award of Garden Merit . Fir See text Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus Abies ( Latin: [ˈabieːs] ) in the family Pinaceae . There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America , Eurasia, and North Africa . The genus is most closely related to Keteleeria ,
2618-425: The bract scales of the cones are long and exserted, or short and hidden inside the cone. Firs can be distinguished from other members of the pine family by the unique attachment of their needle-like leaves to the twig by a base that resembles a small suction cup . The leaves are significantly flattened, sometimes even looking like they are pressed, as in A. sibirica . The leaves have two whitish lines on
2695-407: The tree line . The species is very closely related to Abies magnifica (red fir), which replaces it farther southeast in southernmost Oregon and California, being best distinguished by the leaves having a groove along the midrib on the upper side; red fir does not show this. Red fir also tends to have the leaves less closely packed, with the shoot bark visible between the leaves, whereas the shoot
2772-487: The "rapid growth of a new industry" as the growing of Christmas trees within Britain became commercially viable due to the size of demand. By 2013, the number of trees grown in Britain for the Christmas market was approximately eight million and their display in homes, shops and public spaces a normal part of the Christmas season. Georgians have their own traditional Christmas tree called Chichilaki , made from dried up hazelnut or walnut branches that are shaped to form
2849-560: The 18th and 19th centuries. In the present-day, the churches and homes of Protestants and Catholics feature both Christmas cribs and Christmas trees. In Poland , there is a folk tradition dating back to an old Slavic pre-Christian custom of suspending a branch of fir , spruce , or pine from the ceiling rafters , called podłaźniczka , during the time of the Koliada winter festival. The branches were decorated with apples, nuts, acorns, and stars made of straw. In more recent times,
2926-813: The 1965 TV special, based on the appearance of Charlie Brown 's Christmas tree. 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 Macy'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 use of fire retardant allows many indoor public areas to place real trees and be compliant with code. Licensed applicants of fire retardant solution spray
3003-418: The 19th century. The German-born Queen Charlotte introduced a Christmas tree at a party she gave for children in 1800. The custom did not at first spread much beyond the royal family. Queen Victoria , as a child, was familiar with it 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
3080-664: The Catholic majority rejected this custom because they considered it a typical Protestant tradition. However, this tradition was almost unknown to the rural population until World War I , after which the decorating of trees became common. The first decorated Christmas market was organized in Ljubljana in 1859. After World War II , during the Yugoslavia period, spruce trees set in the public places (towns, squares, and markets) were, for political reasons, replaced with fir trees,
3157-542: The Christmas (7 January) for a wide majority of Russian people. The Peanuts 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 TV special 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
Abies procera - Misplaced Pages Continue
3234-513: The Christmas eve, you will look for a large Branch of green laurel, and you shall reap many red oranges, and place them on the branches that come of the laurel, specifically as you have seen, and in every orange you shall put a candle, and hang the Branch by a rope in the pole, which shall be by the candle of the high altar." Other sources have offered a connection between the symbolism of the first documented Christmas trees in Germany around 1600 and
3311-524: The Christmas tree was largely regarded as a Protestant custom. As a result, it remained confined to the upper Rhineland for a relatively long period of time. The custom did eventually gain wider acceptance beginning around 1815 by way of Prussian officials who emigrated there following the Congress of Vienna . In the 19th century, the Christmas tree was taken to be an expression of German culture and of Gemütlichkeit , especially among emigrants overseas. A decisive factor in winning general popularity
3388-549: The Christmas tree.'" The gifts decorated the trees as ornaments and the children were given tickets with numbers that matched the gifts. This appears to be the typical way of decorating the trees in 1860s Bahamas. In the Christmas of 1864, there was a Christmas tree put up in the Ladies Saloon in the Royal Victoria Hotel for the respectable children of the neighbourhood. The tree was ornamented with gifts for
3465-600: The advent of electrification . Today, there is a wide variety of traditional and modern ornaments , such as garlands , baubles , tinsel , and candy canes . An angel or star might be placed at the top of the tree to represent the Angel Gabriel or the Star of Bethlehem , respectively, from the Nativity . Edible items such as gingerbread , chocolate , and other sweets are also popular and are tied to or hung from
3542-626: The apprentices and children. In Livonia (present-day Estonia and Latvia ), in 1441, 1442, 1510, and 1514, the Brotherhood of Blackheads erected a tree for the holidays in their guild houses in Reval (now Tallinn) and Riga . On the last night of the celebrations leading up to the holidays, the tree was taken to the Town Hall Square , where the members of the brotherhood danced around it. A Bremen guild chronicle of 1570 reports that
3619-537: The backyard, or from the fences, modestly decorated with fruits or not decorated at all. German brewer Peter Luelsdorf brought the first Christmas tree of the current tradition to Slovenia in 1845. He set it up in his small brewery inn in Ljubljana , the Slovenian capital. German officials, craftsmen and merchants quickly spread the tradition among the bourgeois population. The trees were typically decorated with walnuts , golden apples, carobs , and candles. At first,
3696-447: The bottom, each of which is formed by wax -covered stomatal bands. In most species, the upper surface of the leaves is uniformly green and shiny, without stomata or with a few on the tip, visible as whitish spots. Other species have the upper surface of leaves dull, greyish green or bluish to silvery ( glaucous ), coated by wax with variable number of stomatal bands, and not always continuous. An example species with shiny green leaves
3773-675: The children of the much-bombarded town of Lille in northern France. 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 World War II ; in Boston , United States, where the tree
3850-539: The children who formed a circle about it and sung the song "Oats and Beans". The gifts were later given to the children in the name of Santa Claus . The tradition was introduced to North America in the winter of 1781 by Hessian soldiers stationed in the Province of Québec (1763–1791) to garrison the colony against American attack . General Friedrich Adolf Riedesel and his wife, the Baroness von Riedesel , held
3927-422: The date 1576. Modern Christmas trees have been related to 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 (representing fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and thus to the original sin that Christ took away) and round white wafers (to represent
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#17327902547374004-461: The decorations also included colored paper cutouts ( wycinanki ), wafers , cookies , and Christmas baubles . According to old pagan beliefs, the branch's powers were linked to good harvest and prosperity. The custom was practiced by the peasants until the early 20th century, particularly in the regions of Lesser Poland and Upper Silesia . Most often the branches were hung above the wigilia dinner table on Christmas Eve . Beginning in
4081-470: 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 [...] In the year following Victoria's marriage to her German cousin Prince Albert , in 1841, the custom became even more widespread as wealthier middle-class families followed the fashion. In 1842,
4158-401: The engraving into an American scene. 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 Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, shorn of their royal trappings, "the first influential American Christmas tree". Folk-culture historian Alfred Lewis Shoemaker states, "In all of America there
4235-628: The first day of the Advent season. Traditionally, however, Christmas trees were not brought in and decorated until the evening of Christmas Eve (24 December), the end of the Advent season and the start of the twelve days of Christmastide . It is customary for Christians in many localities to remove their Christmas decorations on the last day of the twelve days of Christmastide that falls on 5 January— Epiphany Eve (Twelfth Night), although those in other Christian countries remove them on Candlemas ,
4312-667: The forerunners of the Christmas tree. At the end of the Middle Ages, an early predecessor appears referred in the 15th century Regiment of the Cistercian Alcobaça Monastery in Portugal . The Regiment of the local high- Sacristans of the Cistercian Order refers to what may be considered the oldest references to the Christmas tree: "Note on how to put the Christmas branch, scilicet : On
4389-511: The house and barn with evergreens at the New Year to scare away the devil and of setting up a tree for the birds during Christmas time." It is commonly believed that ancient Romans used to decorate their houses with evergreen trees to celebrate Saturnalia , although there are no historical records of that. In the poem Epithalamium by Catullus , he tells of the gods decorating the home of Peleus with trees, including laurel and cypress. Later Libanius , Tertullian , and Chrysostom speak of
4466-413: The mid-19th century, the tradition over time was almost completely replaced by the later German practice of decorating a standing Christmas tree. In the early 19th century, the custom became popular among the nobility and spread to royal courts as far as Russia. Introduced by Fanny von Arnstein and popularized by Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg , the Christmas tree reached Vienna in 1814, during
4543-723: The mistaken idea that the German word Tannenbaum (fir tree) means "Christmas tree", the German word for which is instead Weihnachtsbaum . Under the state atheism of the Soviet Union , the Christmas tree—along with the entire celebration of the Christian holiday—was banned in the country after the October Revolution . However, the government then introduced a New-year spruce ( Russian : Новогодняя ёлка , romanized : Novogodnyaya yolka ) in 1935 for
4620-403: The pine family by the way in which their needle-like leaves are attached singly to the branches with a base resembling a suction cup , and by their cones , which, like those of cedars , stand upright on the branches like candles and disintegrate at maturity. Identification of the different species is based on the size and arrangement of the leaves, the size and shape of the cones, and whether
4697-504: The practice at about that time. An 1853 article on Christmas customs in Pennsylvania defines them as mostly "German in origin", including the Christmas tree, which is "planted in a flower pot filled with earth, and its branches are covered with presents, chiefly of confectionary, for the younger members of the family." The article distinguishes between customs in different states, however, claiming that in New England generally "Christmas
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#17327902547374774-420: The same species producing either green or purple cones: The cone scale bracts can be short and hidden in the mature cone, or long and exposed ('exserted'); this can vary even within a species, e.g. in Abies magnifica var. magnifica , the bracts are hidden, but in var. critchfieldii and var. shastensis , they are exserted. The bracts scales are often a different colour to the cone scales, which can make for
4851-449: The shoot. The cones are erect, 11–22 cm ( 4 + 1 ⁄ 4 – 8 + 3 ⁄ 4 in) long and 6 cm ( 2 + 1 ⁄ 4 in) thick, with the purple scales almost completely hidden by the long exserted yellow-green bract scales; they ripen brown and disintegrate to release the winged seeds in fall. Viable seeds are only produced every few years. The species can grow for up to 200 years. David Douglas discovered
4928-562: The shoots, but by being twisted at their base, the way they spread from the shoot is diverse; in some species comb-like ('pectinate'), with the leaves flat on either side of the shoot (e.g. A. alba , A. grandis ), in others, the leaves remain radial (e.g. A. pinsapo ) Foliage in the upper crown on cone-bearing branches is different, with the leaves shorter, curved, and sometimes sharp. Firs differ from other conifers in having erect, cylindrical cones 5–25 cm (2–10 in) long that disintegrate at maturity to release
5005-499: The species in the Cascade Range in the early 19th century, calling it the "noble fir". The specific epithet procera means "tall". It is the world's tallest true fir. The species is native to the Cascade Range and Pacific Coast Ranges of western Washington and Oregon , as well as the extreme northwest of California . It is a high-altitude tree, typically occurring at altitudes of 300–1,500 m (980–4,920 ft), often above 600 m (2,000 ft), and only rarely reaching
5082-412: The story of a German maid decorating her mistress' tree. Also, a woodcut of the British royal family with their Christmas tree at Windsor Castle, initially published in The Illustrated London News in 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 moustache, to remake
5159-408: The tapers on a Christmas tree. They had not yet spread down the social scale though, as a report from Berlin in 1858 contrasts the situation there where "Every family has its own" with that of Britain, where Christmas trees were still the preserve of the wealthy or the "romantic". Their use at public entertainments, charity bazaars and in hospitals made them increasingly familiar however, and in 1906
5236-425: The tree's branches with ribbons. The Christmas tree has been historically regarded as a custom of the Lutheran Churches and only in 1982 did the Catholic Church erect the Vatican Christmas Tree . 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; customs of the same faith hold that it
5313-401: The tree, tag the tree, and provide a certificate for inspection. The United States' National Christmas Tree has been lit each year since 1923 on the South Lawn of the White House , becoming part of what evolved into a major holiday event at the White House. President Jimmy Carter lit only the crowning star atop the tree in 1979 in honor of the Americans being held hostage in Iran . This
5390-406: The trees of pre-Christian traditions, though this claim has been disputed. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica , "The use of evergreen trees , wreaths, and garlands to symbolize eternal life was a custom of the ancient Egyptians , Chinese , and Hebrews . Tree worship was common among the pagan Europeans and survived their conversion to Christianity in the Scandinavian customs of decorating
5467-729: The use of evergreen trees to adorn Christian houses. The Vikings and Saxons worshiped trees. The story of Saint Boniface cutting down Donar's Oak illustrates the pagan practices in 8th century among the Germans. A later folk version of the story adds the detail that an evergreen tree grew in place of the felled oak, telling them about how its triangular shape reminds humanity of the Trinity and how it points to heaven. Customs of erecting decorated trees in winter time 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 guildhalls decorated with sweets to be enjoyed by
5544-415: The winged seeds . In contrast to spruces , fir cones are erect; they do not hang, unless heavy enough to twist the branch with their weight. The mature cones are usually brown. When young in summer, they can be green: or reddish: or bloomed pale glaucous or pinkish: or purple to blue, sometimes very dark blue, almost black: Many species are polymorphic in cone colour, with different individuals of
5621-636: The young men "went with a flock of maidens and women, first sang and danced there and then set the tree aflame". After the Protestant 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 bourgeois family homes in the Protestant parts of Germany ultimately gives rise to the modern tradition as it developed in
5698-542: Was discontinued on the death of the paper's founder in the late 1980s. In some cities, a charity event called the Festival of Trees is organized, in which multiple trees are decorated and displayed. The giving of Christmas trees has also often been associated with the end of hostilities. After the signing of the Armistice in 1918, the city of Manchester , England, sent a tree, and £500 to buy chocolate and cakes, for
5775-553: 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 even more common in America. President Benjamin Harrison and his wife Caroline put up the first White House Christmas tree in 1889. Several cities in the United States with German connections lay claim to that country's first Christmas tree. Windsor Locks, Connecticut , claims that
5852-542: Was repeated in 1980, except the tree was fully lit for 417 seconds, one second for each day the hostages had been in captivity. 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
5929-488: Was the German army's decision to place Christmas trees in its barracks and military hospitals during the Franco-Prussian War . Only at the start of the 20th century did Christmas trees appear inside churches, this time in a new brightly lit form. Early Slovenian custom, dating back to around the 17th century, was to suspend the tree either upright or upside-down above the well, a corner of the dinner table, in
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