Fun Facts About Christmas Trees!

The Christmas holiday is just a few weeks away, so let’s look at some fun facts about Christmas trees:
• The oldest record of a decorated Christmas tree in a home came from a 1605 diary, found in Strasburg, Germany. It said the tree was decorated with paper roses, apples, and candles.
• In 1856, Franklin Pierce was the first President to put up a Christmas tree in the White House.
• Today, 98 percent of our Christmas trees are grown on farms.
• In 1923, President Calvin Coolidge started the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, a tradition that continues every year on the White House lawn.
• 21.6 million real Christmas trees were sold in the U.S., in 2023. About 12.9 million artificial trees were also sold last year.
• It is important to water your trees. In the first week, a tree in your home will consume as much as a quart of water per day.
• In 1963, the National Christmas Tree was not lit until December 22 because of a 30-day period of mourning following the assassination of President Kennedy.
• Since 1966, the National Christmas Tree Association has given a Christmas tree to the President for display in the Blue Room. This year’s tree is 20-feet tall!
• Some say that President Teddy Roosevelt banned Christmas trees from the White house because of environmental reasons. The truth is that he didn’t like celebrating the holiday with a tree. His eight-year-old son, Archie, still wanted one so he had a carpenter help him rig up a tree in his closet, and he decorated it with gifts for the whole family. The president later discussed the tree, but offered no reaction to it.