Pink Christmas Tree

As a result of many requests about where to find a pink Christmas tree, I have decided to write a post on the subject. This will be the first post dealing with something other than Christmas lighting and there will probably be others. I am going to add some Christmas tree history just for fun. I am not sure why the issue of finding a pink Christmas seemed to loom so large this year. I can only assume that somewhere in the popular media such a Christmas tree appeared, perhaps in a popular movie or perhaps in a television sitcom. I did not see Sex in the City II. Did Carrie, by chance have a pink Christmas tree?

The Christmas tree is a very important part of most Christmas celebrations. Also known as a Yule tree, traditionally a Christmas tree is a decorated evergreen tree. It can be real or artificial. The tree was generally green but white artificial Christmas trees are also common. And now we see that pink Christmas trees are in demand. The tradition of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas started in Germany in the 16th century. The Christmas tree is traditionally brought into the home and decorated with Christmas lights, ornaments, garlands, tinsel, and candy canes during the days around Christmas. An angel or star was often placed at the top of the tree, representing the host of angels or the Star of Bethlehem from the Nativity scene.

In the late 1500s , there are reports about how a small trees were decorated with "apples, nuts, dates, pretzels and paper flowers" and erected in the homes, for the benefit of the children, who collected treats on Christmas Day.

It was generally regarded as a Protestant custom and did not spread to the Roman Catholic populations until the early 1800s. The tradition was introduced to Canada in the late 1700s by soldiers stationed in the Quebec to protect the colony against a potential American attack. The leaders of the garrison erected a fir tree decorated the tree with candles and fruits.

Many cities, towns, and department stores put up public Christmas trees outdoors, such as the Rich's Great Tree and the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. Almost every municipality of any size erects a Christmas tree. During most of the 1970s and 1980s, the largest decorated Christmas tree in the world was put up every year on the property of infamous tabloid, The National Enquirer . This tradition has since been discontinued.

In many cases the Christmas trees represent special commemorative gifts. Norway often uses Christmas trees as gestures of appreciation. Christmas trees used as token of appreciation include the one in Trafalgar Square in London, where the City of Oslo, Norway presents a tree to the people of London as a token of appreciation for the British support during the Second World War; in Boston, where the Christmas tree is a gift from the province of Nova Scotia in Canada, in thanks for the quick assistance after the terrible ammunition ship explosion in 1917 that destroyed the city of Halifax; and in Newcastle upon Tyne, where an almost 50 foot Christmas tree is a gift from the city of Bergen, Norway, in thanks for help in liberating Bergen from Nazi occupation. Norway also annually gifts a Christmas tree to Washington D.C. as a token of friendship and mutual respect between Norway and the US and in gratitude for the help Norway received from the US during World War II. No word on whether these trees are ever pink Christmas trees.

Both setting up and taking down a Christmas tree are associated with specific dates. Traditionally, Christmas trees were not brought into the home and decorated until December 24 and then they were removed the day after January 6th, which is the twelfth day of Christmas. It was considered bad luck to have a Christmas tree up before or after these dates. Times have changed. Many households in America will put up a Christmas tree shortly after American Thanksgiving which is at the end of November.

The most commonly used for Christmas trees are fir trees, which have the benefit of not shedding their needles when they dry out, as well as retaining pretty decent color and scent over a number of weeks after being cut. Other different types of trees are also used such as spruce and pine.

Germany seems to be the innovator of Christmas trees as that country is thought to have created the first artificial Christmas tree. These fake Christmas trees were first made using goose feathers that were dyed green. Feather Christmas trees ranged widely in size, from a few inches tall to almost six feet tall. At times, the tree branches were tipped with artificial red berries. It is unknown whether an artificial pink Christmas tree of feathers was ever constructed or erected.

Over the years, many other styles of artificial or fake Christmas trees have been developed and have become popular. In 1930, the first artificial Christmas tree made from brush bristles. Other artificial trees have been made from aluminum. These days most artificial Christmas trees are made from recycled plastics of used packaging materials, such as PVC. There are also Christmas tree shaped objects that are made from materials as wood, cardboard, glass, ceramic. Many of these Christmas tree objects are pink. Artificial trees became increasingly popular because they are more convenient and they turned out to be much cheaper than the real tree. In the last five years artificial Christmas tree sales in North America have more than doubled. Pink Christmas trees have, no doubt, played a wee part in this boom.

Now lets get to the point. Where can you find a pink Christmas tree? The answer depends entirely upon timing it would appear. In researching this question earlier in December, I did quick Amazon internet search and found dozens of pink Christmas tree results. These trees ranged in size and price and there was an excellent selection. My most recent search, done a few days after Christmas give me zero results. It was my intention to contrast and compare the different pink Christmas trees but I guess that will have to wait until next year. I hope everyone had a happy Christmas and a few were able to enjoy a pink Christmas tree.

String Lights for Christmas

The 2010 festive season has just begun! Perhaps you could celebrate with some new festive string lights. Though it might be hard to believe it is time to start thinking about putting up your Christmas lights. At the very least it is time to start thinking about your Christmas lights. Are you going to use your old lights? Will you splurge on some new lights or perhaps just augment your current Christmas lights. Often people get in a routine of using the same lighting scheme every holiday season. There is a fear of experimentation. While I generally believe in the old adage of "if it ain't broke don't fix it" with decorations that adage does not apply. Styles change and what was once fashionable might now look a little stale.

Thanksgiving has just past and if the polls are correct a good number of you are shopping today. While you are out at the malls and shops you might be wise to take a peak at the new Christmas lights on the market. There are some fabulous string lights available. String lights are also often referred to as rope lights. Using string lights in your Christmas lighting scheme is a great idea for a number of different reasons. They are versatile, durable, reasonably priced and use energy efficient technology.

I'm sure many of us are old enough to remember when Christmas lights were incredibly fragile and each bulb was individually screwed into the string. The process of putting them up and taking them down and storing them was a delicate operation. Even the smallest bump or knock might damage one of the bulbs and would result in the entire string failing to illuminate. The process of figuring out which bulb was a dud was onerous and frustrating. You will be happy to know that string lights are characteristically opposite. You can throw string lights on the ground and step on them and they will continue to faithfully work.

String lights are also very easy to handle. They are light weight and flexible. They can be attached to your house with small nails or ties. String lights can be attached to your eaves trough in a straight line or they can be wound around tree trunks or railings. String lights can also be formed into a shape like a candle or bell. Another effective use of string lighting is up lighting. You can puddle the string lights around the base of a garden feature to create a subtle up lighting effect.

Of course this type of lights can also be used inside your home at Christmas. Think about incorporating a string light into a garland and running it up the banister. Likewise these lights can create a great effect on your fireplace mantle. Given the flexible nature of these lights it is very easy to be creative. Some people use string lights in their homes year round. Coil some lights on the top of your cupboards to create a soft lighting effect in your kitchen when you don't want the glare of the overhead lights on.

String lights come in all sorts of different colors. The most common for Christmas time are green, red and white. However, you can also find yellow and blue. The color white can be icy white or warm white. They also come in all sorts of different lengths. They generally start at 9 to 12 feet. Adapters are also available to join two strands together to make a single longer strand.

Rope lights are very economical to operate. They use 80-90 per cent less energy than conventional Christmas lights. Some brands boast a 200,000 hour bulb life. Most brands also come with a limited warranty.

It is easy to find a 12 foot long string lights for less than $15.00. At the price you could add a variety of different string lights to your Christmas lighting scheme.