Who brought the Christmas tree custom to America?
The use of evergreen trees in connection with celebrating the Christ mass at the winter solstice is believed to have originated in Germany in the 1500’s. There were instances of many families, whether rich or poor, celebrating the holiday with fanciful decorations on fir trees. There are even references to the selling of Christmas trees in the villages were gathered from the forests. Over the next couple of centuries, the tradition of the Christmas tree was established from London to Lisbon, and from Paris to St. Petersburg. In the late 1700’s, during the American Revolution, Hessian mercenaries introduced the custom to this country. The Germans are also given credit for introducing the Christmas tree in Canada, where in 1781 a German immigrant named Baron von Riedesel put up the first Christmas tree (a balsam fir) in Sorel, Quebec. Equally famous is Charles Minnegerode, another German immigrant, who is fondly remembered for having introduced the custom in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 18
