How much do you know about the Christmas tree?

By Linda Cicoira

I just put up my Charlie Brown Christmas tree. It was so easy. I opened the box, pulled out the tree, and plugged it in. A Nativity is underneath it. My decorating is complete, and it brings me great joy. I’m not a record holder, but I came close to Sam Homewood of Great Britain, who fully decorated a Christmas tree in 34.52 seconds in 2018. What a guy!

Some might call it “scrawny,” and others might criticize it for having only one ornament. But those who see it during the holiday will appreciate it as I do.

I realize it isn’t so easy for many of you in the listening and reading audience. Your children and grandchildren need festive, so you must have the brightest, biggest, most sensational trimmings imaginable.

Please consider putting those decorations outside for others to appreciate as we pass by. In return, I will provide you with some Christmas tree trivia.

Christmas trees have been sold in the United States since 1850. About 35 million live Christmas trees are sold annually in this country. More than 45 million are planted yearly.

The average growing time for a Christmas tree is seven years, but it can take as many as 15 years to grow it to the typical height of six or seven feet. In the first five to seven days, a cut tree in your home will consume as much as a quart of water daily. Nearly 15,000 farms grow Christmas trees in the US, and more than 100,000 people are employed in the industry.

Stringing popcorn garlands for the tree was invented in 1842 in Williamsburg. Of course, we know all worthy things were done in Virginia first.

The oldest written facts about tree decorations were recorded in 1510, when artificial roses were used. The first artificial Christmas trees were made in Germany and consisted of leaves made from green-dyed goose feathers.

Christmas tree farms are gigantic air purifiers. One acre consumes about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide each year. The same acreage produces about a thousand pounds of oxygen annually. That’s the same amount 18 people need to breathe in a year.

About 93 percent of “real” Christmas tree consumers recycle their trees through programs or in gardens or backyards. Recycled trees have been used to make sand and soil erosion barriers and are placed in ponds for fish shelter. Artificial trees are estimated to last for around six years and will continue that life for centuries at the landfill.

In the UK, people say it is bad luck to leave the tree up for more than 12 days after Christmas. I wonder what they would think of this fun fact. If your tree is cut late enough in the season, it can last until Saint Patrick’s Day. That’s right! Oh, let’s do that and dance around it in our green splendor!

Late cutting gives the tree’s needles a chance to “set,” causing them to be less likely to fall off the branches. This is possible if they go through several frosts before the harvest and are kept cold.

In 1882, Edward Johnson wired together 80 bulbs for his Christmas tree, thus starting the worldwide tradition. It figures Johnson was Thomas Edison’s assistant.

A unique Christmas tree is formed in Chandler, Arizona, every year. It is made of about 2,000 tumbleweeds and is 35 feet tall and 20 feet wide. Since 1947, the people of Oslo, Norway, have given a Christmas tree to the city of Westminster, England, as an expression of goodwill and gratitude for Britain’s help during World War II.

So, there you have it. Everything you didn’t know that you needed to know.