Salida Real Estate

 Artificial Christmas Trees

The very first artificial Christmas tree originated in Germany in the late 1800s in an effort to prevent deforestation. It was shaped with metal wire and decorated with feathers from geese, ostriches, turkeys, or swans. The feathers were dyed green in order to make them look like pine needles. It was a small tree that was meant to be placed on a table or stand.

In the 1930s a brush company invented a much-improved version of the artificial Christmas tree. They initially used animal hair, the same thing that they used to make their brushes, to make needles of the trees. Eventually they switched to using colored plastic for the needles. While these trees were a vast improvement from those made in the 1800s they still did not compare to the real trees. .

In the 1950s the metallic paper tree hit the market. They were made from paper painted with a metallic paint. These trees were popular but not very safe. Because they were made from they posed a fire hazard if decorated with the traditional Christmas lights that were used at that time. Instead, Spotlights or floodlights with rotating color wheels in front of them were used to light them.

It is within the last twenty years that we have seen the biggest advances in artificial Christmas trees. The artificial trees that are available now very real looking. In some cases, it is difficult to tell a real tree from an artificial tree from a distance. They are even made to resemble several different real trees such as the Balsam Fir, Douglas Fir, White Pine, and Scott Pine.

There are many varieties of artificial Christmas trees now available. No longer are the days where you have to spend hours assembling and decorating the Christmas tree. That is if you choose not to. Now you can purchase a pre-lit tree that is already assembled with the lights already on it. There are also fiber optic trees available. The needles are the lights on a fiber optic so there is no need to worry about the tree getting too hot or replacing a bulb. All you need to do with the pre-lit tree and the fiber optic tree is add your own ornaments and decorations. Finally, if you don’t like the green artificial Christmas tree, they now come in a variety of colors, such as white, purple, and blue or if you prefer, you can even purchase them with glitter or snow covered branches.