A Christmas Tree History

'Tis the Season

This month we're sharing a fascinating look at the history of Christmas trees in the United States that can be a conversation starter in your classroom.

You can read more about current Wisconsin Christmas tree farming at Wisconsin Christmas Tree Producers Association. And for a look at the many other things Wisconsin tree farms do, visit Wisconsin Tree Farm Committee.

A brief Christmas tree history

Adapted and abbreviated with permission from The Roots of the Real Christmas Tree: Conservation and Public Space in the Twentieth Century United States by Dr. Neil Prendergast, Associate Professor of History, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Trees became part of Christmas celebrations in the United States during the nineteenth century. During that century, the holiday gradually became a domestic one with kids eating sweets and enjoying gifts, often found under the tree. By the end of the century, the tree had come to signify Christmas.

At the turn of the twentieth century, there were about four million Christmas trees harvested annually in a nation of just over 75 million people. Despite this relatively low number, some foresters started to question whether too many trees were being cut for Christmas. The strongest voice of concern came from J. Sterling Morton, the founder of Arbor Day and the onetime head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Morton argued that indiscriminate logging would deplete the wood supply, cause soil erosion, and ruin urban water supplies.

Morton struck a chord among conservationists. Calls were made for federal conservation agencies to intervene. Despite the plea, the Forest Service did not significantly involve itself in Christmas tree harvesting until the 1930s.

Before Forest Service involvement, leaders in the 1910s and 1920s experimented with another approach to conservation – the “community Christmas tree.” It caught on quickly, largely because it combined the popular progressive-era values of conservation and public culture. If city residents would be content with a community Christmas tree in a public place, the demand for household Christmas trees would drop. Furthermore, the public celebrations of Christmas would bring together diverse Americans, thereby cultivating a vibrant and inclusive public culture.

In 1912, Madison Square Park in New York featured the nation’s first community Christmas tree. At least 300 towns and cities participated in the community Christmas tree movement by the late 1910s. In time, the municipal Christmas tree became a common feature of the American landscape.

Despite its widespread adoption, the community Christmas tree did not become the sole tree for Americans who celebrated Christmas. Instead, household trees would become more and more popular in the twentieth century. Instead of emphasizing the civic role of public spaces, downtown boosters in the 1930s and 1940s increasingly marketed downtowns as places to shop. There, the public encountered the Christmas tree increasingly as a spectacle to induce shopping.

At this same time, the Forest Service pointed out that Christmas trees could be planted in areas where traditional farming wasn’t viable, both to help private landowners reforest land and to develop a cash crop. As conservation worries eased, Christmas tree farms expanded and consumer demand for farmed trees increased.

By the 1960s, cut-your-own Christmas tree farms had become an outing for many families, highlighting how Americans who celebrated the holiday did so more and more as members of a family unit, and less and less as members of the public.

By the 1970s, the rapid growth of farmed trees began to cool as artificial trees increased market share, sparking the “real” vs. “fake” debate that continues to dominate public conversation today. By the end of the twentieth century, farmed trees would be neck and neck with manufactured trees, each accounting for about 30 million sales a year.

Turn a Christmas tree into a set of Tree Cookies

Tree cookies are cross-sections of tree trunks that show a tree's growth rings. Many educators use them to teach children about tree growth and anatomy. Tree cookies can also provide engaging math lessons.

It wouldn't be a holiday newsletter without at least one "recipe". If you’ve never made your own set of tree cookies, follow our handy recipe to make a set.

Tree Cookie Recipe

Remove the bottom limbs from the tree
With a cross-cut saw or appropriate power tool, carefully cut the trunk crosswise into 1- or 2-inch thick slices (AKA cookies).
Set the cookies aside to dry for a week or two, or carefully dry them in an oven set to “warm” (170-200°F) for four or five hours. Whichever drying method you choose, be sure to turn your cookies periodically for even drying.
For the easiest ring viewing, sand your cookies after drying them.
Some people coat their sanded tree cookies with a layer of polyurethane to protect them, but this is an optional step.

School Forest Award nomination are open!

The 2023 School Forest Awards recognize individuals and organizations that have provided leadership or made other significant contributions to school forest programs over the past year.

Awards will be presented in the spring of 2024 at a time arranged within the honoree’s local school district or community.

Nominate Someone Today!

4th-grade Teachers: Order Arbor Day seedlings now!

Every year since 1984, Wisconsin 4th-grade students have been eligible to receive a free tree seedling from the DNR reforestation program to complement their Arbor Day observations.

School principals, 4th-grade teachers and 4th-grade homeschool parents should visit this DNR webpage to order seedlings for Wisconsin 4th-grade students. The order forms on that page are for obtaining seedlings for 4th grade students only, not for school forests. (You can do both. To order seedlings for school forests use the forms on this page. )

The seedlings will be shipped next spring in time for Arbor Day celebrations and come with a protective bag and instructions on how students should plant and care for them. Planting a seedling and watching it grow can be a great learning tool. Find additional ideas for planning an Arbor Day celebration on this DNR webpage.

If you have any questions about the free seedling program for Wisconsin 4th-graders, please email Carey Skerven at the DNR’s Griffith State Nursery at Carey.Skerven@wisconsin.gov.

Order Your Seedlings!

Professional Development

Forestry Field Skills for Educators

Join us for a day of field practice as we brush up on timber cruising skills such as tree measurement, calculating merchantable tree volume and basal area, and compass use. We will also touch a little bit on winter tree identification.

Date: Thursday, January 25

Time: 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Location: Marshfield, WI

Fee: $25

Learn More & Register

School Forest

Foundational Planning

Bring a team and join us for a day of foundational planning where we look at the steps needed to integrate the forest into your district’s learning objectives, gain resources, and network with other school forest educators who are looking to develop, use, and sustain their school forest programming.

Date: Thursday, February 8

Time: 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Location: Stevens Point, WI

Fee: $25

Learn More & Register