30 Fun & Interesting Facts About Christmas

The first tree that went up at Rockefeller Center was set up by construction workers.

The spectacular Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center in New York wasn’t always that gracious and amazing as it is today. The first tree went up in 1931, and it was set up by construction workers that worked in the area around the holidays.

They used a 20-foot tree but it wasn’t a big spectacle at all, as they didn’t use any kinds of ornaments and decorations. However, their simple tree sparked an annual tradition, as two years later, a second tree went up. This time, it was a 50-foot tree with lights, and the rest is history.

In this day and age, the Rockefeller tree has more than 25,000 lights.

You can’t visit New York during the holidays and not go to the Rockefeller Center to see the spectacular Christmas tree. According to Time, the grandiose tree features more than 25,000 lights in order to be as sparkling as it is.

The Christmas tree tradition dates back a few centuries.

Decorating a Christmas tree is part of the United States tradition for decades, but did you know this tradition is actually originated in Germany? The first Christmas tree was decorated in the 16th century in Germany. However, it took more than a century until this custom traveled to America, somewhere around the early 1800s.

Did you know that there are around 630 species of Christmas trees?

While there are some people that prefer an artificial tree over a real one, nothing compares with the smell you have in your house when you’re opting for a real one. And the best part is, there are around 630 species of real trees to choose from, including the most popular choices such as balsam fir, Douglas fir, and Fraser fir.

The first Christmas tree wasn’t an immediate success.

When Christmas trees arrived in the United States at the beginning of the 1800s, they weren’t an immediate success, and that’s because they were introduced by German settlers, and they weren’t seen as Christians during those times.

In fact, Americans considered that the Christmas tree was a pagan symbol and they were completely against this custom until the 1840s, according to History.com.

More than 77 million Christmas trees are grown in the U.S. each year.

As data from History.com has shown, more than 1 million acres of American soil are used for planting Christmas trees, with a total of 2,000 trees per acre, which leads to about 77 million trees planted each year in America. Impressive, right?

Additionally, each of the 50 states plans Christmas trees each year, so they can be easily found everywhere in the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, according to History.com.

Have you ever heard about the Christmas tree pickle?

It’s pretty strange, but every year, an ornamental pickle is placed on the Christmas tree as a decoration. But according to the tradition, the pickle is more than an ornament. The first child who finds the pickle would either receive a prize or have the opportunity to be the first who opens the gifts.

The Christmas pickle is used to establish a little order when opening the presents, this was you’ll keep your kids from rushing through the process of opening gifts, and they’ll get to enjoy it more.