So, here are some more Christmas tree fun facts and trivia:
President Franklin Pierce erected the first Christmas tree
in the White House in 1856.
In 1894 President Grover Cleveland displayed the first
electrically lighted White House Christmas tree, which was lit with numerous
small multi-colored lights.
In 1917, Albert Sadacca, then a teenager, suggested to his
family’s novelty lighting company, that they consider selling colored strands
of Christmas lights to the public.
In 1919, General Electric first introduced the cone-shaped
Christmas light, which became the industry standard until the 1970s.
In 1927, General Electric and the associated Edison Electric
distribution companies introduced a color-light contest as a marketing tool
designed to encourage neighborhood decorating. This strategy was so successful
that by the end of the 1920s, communities all over the United States began to
hold decorating competitions featuring multi-colored lights. Today, Woodstock (VT), Ashville (NC), Jackson (WY), Taos (NM), Durango (CO) and Corning (NY) head the list of best small towns for Christmas.
Henry Ford was also part of holiday traditions with his love
of Santa Claus and inventive holiday decorating. His favorite holiday was
Christmas, and he created a large Santa’s Workshop at his Michigan Estate with
lavish garden decorations, activities such as pony rides and games. He may have
even dressed as Santa. He welcomed family, friends and the students from his
school at Greenfield Village and distributed gifts, and holiday cheer for
everyone.
The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree dates back to the
Depression Era days.
The first tree at Rockefeller Center was placed in 1931.
It was a small unadorned tree placed by construction workers at the center of
the construction site. Two years later, another tree was placed there, this
time with lights. The tallest tree displayed at Rockefeller Center came in 1948
and was a Norway Spruce that measured in at 100 feet tall and hailed from
Killingworth, Connecticut.
These days, the giant Rockefeller Center tree is laden with over 25,000
Christmas lights.
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