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Christmas Tree Helpful Hints...from the National Christmas Tree Association.

Use these tips to keep your Tree safe, alive with a fresh pine scent and providing beauty throughout the holiday season:

Select the freshest-looking Real Tree available. To test for freshness, gently grasp a branch between your thumb and forefinger and pull it toward you. Very few needles should come off in your hand. Shake or bounce the tree on its stump. You should not see an excessive amount of green needles fall to the ground. Some loss of interior brown needles is normal.
If not setting up right away, store the tree in water if possible and out of the sun and wind.
Make a fresh cut off the bottom of the trunk one half inch from the bottom just before putting in the stand. Keep the tree’s stand full of water at all times, checking the water level daily.
The stand you use should hold at least one quart of water for every inch diameter of the trunk after the tree is in the stand.
Don’t add anything to the tree’s water. Research has shown that plain tap water is by far the best. Some commercial additives and home concoctions can actually be detrimental to a tree’s moisture retention and increase needle loss.
Place the Christmas Tree well away from heat registers, space heaters, fire places, wood stoves, televisions, computer monitors and other heat sources. These will speed up evaporation and moisture loss of the tree

Christmas Tree Facts...

Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition in the sixteenth century.
In 1841, England's Prince Albert decorating the first English Christmas tree at Windsor castle with candles and a variety of sweets, fruits and gingerbread.
Charles Dickens described an 1850 Christmas Trees as being covered with dolls, miniature furniture, tiny musical instruments, costume jewelry, toy guns and swords, fruit and candy.
The first record of a Christmas Tree being on display in America was in the 1830s by the German settlers of Pennsylvania.
By the 1890s, Christmas ornaments were arriving from Germany and Christmas tree popularity was on the rise around the U.S. It was noted that Europeans used small trees about four feet in height, while Americans liked their Christmas to reach from floor to ceiling.
The early twentieth century saw Americans decorating their trees mainly with homemade ornaments. Popcorn was used after being dyed bright colors and interlaced with berries and nuts.
Electricity brought about Christmas lights making it possible for Christmas trees to glow for days on end. With this, Christmas trees began to appear in town squares across the country.
In Poland, Christmas trees tops were always angels, peacocks and other birds as well as many, many stars.
In Sweden, trees are decorated with brightly painted wooden ornaments and straw figures of animals and children.
In Denmark, tiny Danish flags along with mobiles of bells, stars, snowflakes and hearts are hung on Christmas trees.
Lithuanians cover their trees with straw birdcages, stars and geometric shapes. The straw sends a wish for good crops in the coming year.
Czechoslovakian trees display ornaments made from painted eggshells.
A Ukrainian Christmas tree has a spider and web for good luck. Legend has it that once a poor woman with nothing to put on her children's tree woke on Christmas morning to find the branches covered with spider webs turned to silver by the rising sun.