"Rocking around the Christmas tree
At the Christmas party hop
Mistletoe hung where you can see
Every couple tries to stop"
– from "Rocking Around The Christmas Tree" by Johnny Marks
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – According to the History Channel we enjoy the green of a holiday tree, and have since before Christianity, because evergreen trees and bushes were special in winter solstice festivities.
In times past greenery was placed across doors and windows in hopes that disease and bad spirits would be kept at bay.
Here in the Northern Hemisphere we note the shortest day and hence, the longest night arrive annually on Dec. 21 or 22.
Back in the 1740s the Pennsylvania settlers displayed what is thought to be the first of the American Christmas trees, while the tradition of Christmas trees in North America is said to have originated in Canada in 1781.
Our state of California joins three others – Wisconsin, North Carolina and Oregon – as the preeminent Christmas tree growing states in the U.S., according to the Web site www.history.com .
The site also states that some of the most popular trees sold are Douglas fir, white pine and scotch pine.
Trees were adorned with fruit, nuts and candles, until Thomas Edison's team found a way to employ electric lights on trees.
A popular tree adornment, tinsel, now made of plastic, once contained lead and was prohibited for sale by the U.S. government.
Today we enjoy placing garlands, candy canes, ornaments and gingerbread on our trees, with a topping of an angel or star.
The tree decorating technique known as “flocking” to simulate a snow-covered tree made its debut in the 1800s when trees were wrapped in cotton.
Trees of a similar style of flocking were depicted in Hollywood movies of the 1940s and 50s, when the style was adopted by those in the West Coast's warmer climates.
Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is a retired educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also writes for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.
Lake County Time Capsule: Christmas tree tradition
- Kathleen Scavone
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