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| Photo by Karen Hendricks |
Evergreens were used to decorate homes in the dead of winter, dating back to biblical times. By the 7th century, the pagan custom became an accepted part of religious Christmas festivities. The tradition of Christmas trees dates back to the 16th century in Strasbourg, Germany, where fir trees were cut from German forests. The first Christmas tree market in America is believed to be Washington Market, New York City, where fir and spruce trees harvested from the Catskill Mountains were sold in 1851.
Today, the Christmas tree market is booming throughout Pennsylvania and Adams County. According to the 2012 U.S. Census of Agriculture and the Department of Plant Science at Penn State University:
- 33-36 million: Christmas trees produced in North America annually
- 15,500: Christmas tree growers in the U.S.
- 2,000: Number of Christmas tree farms in Pennsylvania (second in the nation behind Oregon)
- 27: Christmas tree farms in Adams County (15th in the state)
- 45,000: Acres of Christmas tree farms in Pennsylvania
- 253: Adams County acres devoted to Christmas tree farms, ranking tenth in the state
- $1.5 billion: Amount spent annually by American consumers on Christmas trees
- $55 million: Christmas tree revenues annually in Pennsylvania; third in the nation behind Oregon and North Carolina
- $843,000: Revenue generated annually by Christmas tree sales in Adams County; within Pennsylvania’s top 10 counties in terms of revenue
According to 2014 estimates by the Department of Plant Science, Penn State University, the following Christmas tree varieties are grown throughout Pennsylvania:
- Douglas fir 40%
- Fraser fir 35
- Colorado (blue) spruce 8
- Scotch pine 8
- Balsam (Canaan) fir 3
- Eastern white pine 3
- Others 3
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