Fun Facts about the Christmas Tree

The first decorated Christmas tree was in Riga, Latvia in 1510.
Besides evergreens, other types of trees such as cherry and hawthorns were used as Christmas trees in the past.
Using small candles to light a Christmas tree dates back to the middle of the 17th century.
Christmas tree lights were first mass-produced in 1890.
In 1900, large stores started to showcase big, illuminated Christmas trees.
Since 1966, the National Christmas Tree Association has given a Christmas tree to the President and first family for display in the Blue Room.
Nineteenth century Americans cut their trees in nearby forests. Today most real Christmas trees are grown on farms.
Growing Christmas trees provides habitat for wildlife and an acre of Christmas trees provides the daily oxygen requirements of 18 people.
Artificial Christmas trees were developed in Germany during the 19th century and later became popular in the United States. These “trees” were made using goose feathers that were dyed green and attached to wire branches.
In 1930 a U.S.- based company created the first artificial Christmas tree made from brush bristles. The company used the same machinery that it used to manufacture toilet brushes, but they were dyed green.
Today, most artificial Christmas trees are made from PVC plastic with 85% of artificial trees worldwide manufactured in China.

93% of real Christmas tree consumers recycle their tree in community recycling programs, their garden or backyard.
In the United States, there are more than 4,000 Christmas tree recycling programs.