It's Christmas Eve/Day and, if you're celebrating the holiday, you likely have a Christmas tree in your home.

 

And, there's a good chance it isn't a real tree. Though many people choose a real, live tree for their holiday celebration, many also choose to put up an artificial tree. If you've ever put up a fake Christmas tree, you may wonder when, where, and how people began using artificial trees for the Christmas holiday.

 

If you've ever had a real tree, you might have an idea as to why the artificial tree market was born. Real trees lose their pine needles, causing a bit of a mess to clean up. They can also dry out and pose a fire hazard. Another reason is that during the early 1900s, over-harvesting of evergreen trees led to a shortage.

 

People in Germany began making fake trees from goose feathers in the 1880s. The first US patent for an artificial tree was issued in 1882 and the following year, customers could buy one from Sears & Roebuck for 50 cents. In the 1960s, a former World War II bomber pilot named Si Spiegel developed the modern artificial tree and was soon producing nearly a million of them every year.

 

Real trees have seen a resurgence and there are now 15,000 Christmas tree farms in the US, that sell around 30 million trees each year.

 

So which type is the best type of tree to have? The answer is easy … the tree you and your family gather around to celebrate every year.

 

Merry Christmas!

 

Brush Christmas tree from 1930s

 

Goose feather artificial trees