The History of Christmas Trees & Popular Christmas Traditions

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Around the world, Christmas traditions are celebrated in many rich and diverse ways. The origins of these traditions are wonderfully varied and have evolved throughout history. One of the most popular Christmas traditions is decorating a Christmas tree. But what’s the history of Christmas trees? This infographic captures some of the world’s most popular Christmas and Winter Solstice traditions, and their milestones, from 3,000 BC to today.

The History of Christmas Trees And Other Popular Christmas Traditions

The Origins Of Popular Christmas Traditions

Most Christmas traditions slowly caught on over the years. Here are some fun facts about a few of the most popular Christmas traditions:

• Santa Tracker: NORAD used the Internet to track Santa for the first time (1997).
• National Holiday Status: Christmas wasn’t declared a national holiday in the United States until 1870.
• The First Store Santa: The first store Santa was Massachusetts businessman James Edgar in 1890. Wonder if he warned kids back then not to shoot their eye out?
• Irish Santa Snacks: Instead of cookies and milk, the Irish leave Santa mince pie and Guinness.
• The First Fake Tree: The first artificial Christmas tree was created using toilet brush technology (1900).
• The First Christmas Tree: The Christmas Tree, a now-common tradition around the world, began in Germany in the 1500s. The history of Christmas trees in America got a much slower start than the rest of the world. The first Christmas Tress didn’t arrive until the early 1800s when German settlers brought the tradition to America from Germany.

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