The National Christmas Tree Association reports that the first written record of a live, decorated Christmas tree was in 1510 in a town in Riga, Latvia. These trees were decorated with fruit, cookies and candy that would later be shared with family. In 1530, trees were being cut and sold in the marketplace in Alsasce, France to be taken home and set up undecorated. However, laws limited the size to slightly over four feet. By the 1600’s it was common place in Germany to decorate live trees with apples. The German settlers brought their tradition to the United States in the 1800’s and by 1851, Christmas trees were sold commercially. Popularity soared and with trees being taken randomly from forests, over-harvesting was soon to come. Conservationists were alarmed and as a resolution W.V. McGalliard planted 25,000 Norway Spruce on his farm in New Jersey in 1901. The first Christmas Tree Farm was realized and Christmas trees became a renewable resource.

Today approximately 25-30 million real Christmas trees are sold each year,with the majority of them being grown by US farmers. At present there are 350 million Christmas trees growing on US soil in all 50 states. These trees are providing clean air and wildlife habitats.

For more information visit The National Christmas Tree Association: www.realchristmastrees.org.