How Pine Trees Became Associated With Christmas
The practice of decorating evergreens for Christmas originated in Germany in the 17th century. The first recorded account of a decorated Christmas tree comes from a diary found in Strasburg dated 1605. Does this Spark an idea?
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History
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Ancient Romans celebrated a pagan winter festival to honor the god of agriculture. They decorated trees with small pieces of metal as part of the celebration. In the 1500s Germans brought undecorated fir trees into their homes for holiday celebrations. As decorating the trees gained in popularity, the trend spread to England. Immigrants brought the tradition to the United States in the18th century.
Types
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The fir tree is the most common type of Christmas tree, but several other species of evergreens are popular choices as well. These include varieties of pine, cedar, spruce and cypress. Artificial trees come in more varieties than fresh trees because they are not limited by season or climate.
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Effects
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Christmas tree farms help to replace the trees that are cut down each year, reducing the environmental impact of using fresh Christmas trees instead of artificial trees. As if 2010 approximately half a billion trees growing on Christmas tree farms in the United States.
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References
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