Christmas article 4

4. Asides - Interesting Facts/ Notes About Christmas

It is an accepted fact that the Christmas tree tradition is one that was

brought to the shores of America by German immigrants who continued a practice

that was popular in their former homeland. Today, a Christmas tree, even a

miniature one, is present in just about every home at Christmas. It is therefore

interesting to note some little-know facts about the Christmas Tree and other

traditions related to Christmas.

The first interesting fact is the source of real Christmas Trees for some

Americans. These can be bought at a Christmas Tree Farm or at many local stores

and other places of business in just about every town and city across the

country around Christmas time. But according to the National Christmas Tree

Association, Americans buy about 330,000 Christmas trees that are real through

e-commerce or from a catalogue and have them shipped by mail-order.

The scent of real Christmas trees is the reason they are so popular. But as they

stand silently in their decorative wonder, they also are providing another

benefit. The Christmas Tree Association says the amount of oxygen produced on a

daily basis by one acre of Christmas tree is enough to provide enough oxygen for

18 people. And during the first week, a Christmas Tree at home will use up to

one quart of water each day to help retain its longevity for the many days of

Christmas.

Since Christmas celebrations gained popularity in America, the Christmas Tree

has always been a big tradition. During the 1950s however, artificial Christmas

trees were not always green. It was very popular during those times to have

artificial trees with other colors such as silver, pink and aqua. The appeal in

having these colored Christmas trees may have been due to the fact that they

looked shiny and bright and appeared like tinsel instead of green foliage.

An important ceremony related to the Christmas tree that gains national

attention during the Christmas season is the lighting of the National Christmas

Tree at the White House. This tradition can be credited to President Calvin

Coolidge who lit the first decorated Christmas tree outside at the White House

in 1923.

The lighting of the National Christmas Tree has also been used to convey some

symbolic meaning not related to Christmas. It was not lighted until Dec. 22 in

1963 because of a national mourning period of 30 days for the assassination of

President Kennedy. And while Teddy Roosevelt was President he gave an order that

banned the Christmas tree from the White House, not for the assassination of

President McKinley in 1901, which caused him to become president, but for

reasons related to the environment.

Also of note is that when the National Christmas Tree was lighted on Dec. 13 in

1984, temperatures were in the 70s during an unusually warm December.

Christmas has been celebrated in the United States since the 1600s although it

wasn't always very popular. It took more than two centuries into the mid-late

1860s for Christmas to become a popular holiday season all across America. So

maybe the rest of the country owes the holiday of Christmas Day to the state of

Alabama, which in 1836 became the first state to declare Dec. 25 a legal

holiday.

It is interesting to note that on Christmas Day of 1789 Congress was in session.

And to show how far ahead of the game Alabama was, it wasn't until June 26, 1870

that the federal government declared Christmas as a federal holiday.

Although Christmas is based on the Christian religion, not all Christian groups

celebrate the season. Among the Christian groups who do not celebrate Christmas

and related traditions such as sending greeting cards are Jehovah Witnesses.

Jehovah Witnesses and other non-participating Christian groups say Christmas

isn't specifically mentioned in the Bible as a time or reason to celebrate and

since they strictly adhere to the word of the Bible, they refuse to celebrate

Christmas.