Okay, you have eaten a lot of turkey, stuffing, and more pumpkin pie than you care to admit; now it is time to trim the tree for another year.

Have you ever thought about why most people display a real or artificial Christmas tree in their homes every year?

It is told that Saint Boniface, a monk from England one day discovered a group of pagans surrounding a big oak tree about to sacrifice a child to the god Thor. In order to stop the sacrifice and save the child’s life Boniface knocked down the tree with a strong blow of his fist.  A small fir tree grew in its place. “The saint told the pagan worshipers that the tiny fir was the Tree of Life and stood for the eternal life of Christ.”

Around the 12th Century,Christmas trees were hung from ceilings as a symbol of Christianity. No one knows why they were hung upside down!

According to a post on www.didyouknow.org, The first reference to the Christmas tree was at Riga in Latvia in 1510.
“In 1521, the Princess Hlne de Mecklembourg introduced the Christmas tree to Paris after marrying the Duke of Orleans.”  

The Christmas tree originated from Germany in 1531. Eventually, by about the 1800’s the Christmas tree was introduced to the United States by German Settlers.
“In 1804, US soldiers stationed at Fort Dearborn (Chicago) hauled trees from surrounding woods to their barracks.”

I thought this was an interesting fact, that most trees used to be decorated with cakes, apples and candies! In the late 16th century,
Martin Luther (1483 – 1546) is said to be the first to have decorated a Christmas tree with candles to show children how the stars twinkled through the dark night.”

It seems to be a modern tradition to put up a Christmas tree, if you choose to, on the day after Thanksgiving!
(or Black Friday!)  However, traditionally it was common to put up a tree 12 days before Christmas, and take it down 12 days after Christmas!

Whatever, you choose,enjoy the the holidays!

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