Now you know

This year, some 24 million Americans will buy real Christmas trees, only a slight increase from last year, the National Christmas Tree Association predicts. Over the past decade, sales of real trees have fallen as more people opt for lifelike artificial ones. In 1990, 35.4 million households displayed real trees and 36.3 million put up artificial ones. A decade later, the split was 32 million live and 50.6 million artificial. When did the first artificial Christmas trees surface? In Germany during the 1880s fake trees were created using goose feathers. Fifty years later, an American company, Addis Brush Co., produced Christmas trees with the machinery it used to make toilet brushes. Aluminum trees were popular in the 1960s; today, "prelighted" fake trees have become more common. They hit the market about five years ago.

Sources: AP, National Christmas Tree Association, Tree Classics.

You've read 3 of 3 free articles. Subscribe to continue.
QR Code to Now you know
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1208/p18s04-hfgn.html
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe
CSM logo

Why is Christian Science in our name?

Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The Christian Science Church, and we’ve always been transparent about that.

The Church publishes the Monitor because it sees good journalism as vital to progress in the world. Since 1908, we’ve aimed “to injure no man, but to bless all mankind,” as our founder, Mary Baker Eddy, put it.

Here, you’ll find award-winning journalism not driven by commercial influences – a news organization that takes seriously its mission to uplift the world by seeking solutions and finding reasons for credible hope.

Explore values journalism About us