It's that time of year to start decking the living room with Christmas trees and decorations, something 99 million American homes will have, according to an American Christmas Tree Association survey.That's 77 percent of the households in the United States, and while more real trees are sold each year — 22.6 million in 2015 compared with 11.5 million artificial tress — 81 percent of the households use artificial trees, while just 19 percent use real trees. At the Ace Hardware in Libertyville, both live and artificial trees are sold, but artificial trees have been outselling the real ones this year."We sell 15 to 20 percent more artificial trees," said Paul LaRoche, manager of the store. He sold eight Thursday morning alone. "It's a personal preference," he said. "When you combine the safety, the ease of putting it up and not having to worry about watering it, I can see why some people prefer the artificial tree. It's definitely a time-saver."They go for $49 to $400," LaRoche said, and real Douglas firs outside the store go for $35.

"The real ones can die out real fast, but real ones look really nice."At the Cambridge Plaza in Libertyville, a tree lot is run by the Rosko family of Lake Villa, who have several lots across the county. Their motto is, "Don't fake it, get real!" Rich Zemke of Gurnee has been working at the tree lot for almost a dozen years and he said several hundred trees are sold every year."Sales have been fairly consistent over the years, even when the economy went down," he said. "I don't feel like there has been a slowdown at all."And it's the Christmas season. Just about every family that comes here is in a good mood," he said, while also acknowledging that sometimes things can get testy when everyone can't agree on the perfect tree.Beth McKenna of Libertyville stopped by Thursday afternoon to pick up some fresh garland for her home. She had already purchased her tree through a hockey club in Lake Forest, a family tradition. She is not going to go artificial any time soon."No, I just like the look of (a real tree) and the smell of it," she said.

Pushing out some of the tree lots are the big box stores that now sell trees. Many tree lots are run by not-for-profits, like the United Methodist Church in Libertyville and Most Blessed Trinity Church in Waukegan."I can't find anyone who knows when it started," said Dave Davies, scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 72, which sells the trees in conjunction with United Methodist Church's men's club."It's been at least 20 years," he said. The money raised goes to help reduce the cost of camping trips and other troop activities."We sell about 400 I think," he said. "I think the beauty of the real tree is the appearance and the smell. I don't think you can beat a real tree. it just takes a little work or care." Hugo Rodriguez, logistics and operational manager for the Waukegan church, said church people have been selling trees for about five years and the money goes to fund the Knights of Columbus Waukegan Council 731, which donates to a number of charities, not all of which are church-related."

Last year we ran out of trees on Dec. 13, so we ordered a few more this year," he said, a total of 288 trees."top 10 home decorating showsWe try to get the best price for the trees because this is a fundraiser," Rodriguez said."living room decor goldPeople can go to many places to buy a tree," he said. christmas decoration in the window"But, once they get a good quality tree here and they know they don't have to go far, they know it benefits the church and a good cause; paint for exterior of homepeople like to come back."christmas outdoor decoration ideas pinterest

500 Years After Luther, We Still Feel the Pressure to Be JustifiedReading the Reformation in 2017Ultrasounds Help Bridge Evangelical and Catholic TheologySubscribe|paint new exterior wood door Today in Christian History Subscribe to the selected newsletters. Get the best from CT editors, delivered straight to your inbox! The evergreen tree was an ancient symbol of life in the midst of winter. Romans decorated their houses with evergreen branches during the New Year, and ancient inhabitants of northern Europe cut evergreen trees and planted them in boxes inside their houses in wintertime. Many early Christians were hostile to such practices. The second-century theologian Tertullian condemned those Christians who celebrated the winter festivals, or decorated their houses with laurel boughs in honor of the emperor: "Let them over whom the fires of hell are imminent, affix to their posts, laurels doomed presently to burn: to them the testimonies of darkness and the omens of their penalties are suitable.

You are a light of the world, and a tree ever green. If you have renounced temples, make not your own gate a temple." But by the early Middle Ages, the legend had grown that when Christ was born in the dead of winter, every tree throughout the world miraculously shook off its ice and snow and produced new shoots of green. At the same time, Christian missionaries preaching to Germanic and Slavic peoples were taking a more lenient approach to cultural practices—such as evergreen trees. These missionaries believed that the Incarnation proclaimed Christ's lordship over those natural symbols that had previously been used for the worship of pagan gods. Not only individual human beings, but cultures, symbols, and traditions could be converted. Of course, this did not mean that the worship of pagan gods themselves was tolerated. According to one legend, the eighth-century missionary Boniface, after cutting down an oak tree sacred to the pagan god Thor (and used for human sacrifice), pointed to a nearby fir tree instead as a symbol of the love and mercy of God.

Not until the Renaissance are there clear records of trees being used as a symbol of Christmas—beginning in Latvia in 1510 and Strasbourg in 1521. Legend credits the Protestant reformer Martin Luther with inventing the Christmas tree, but the story has little historical basis. The most likely theory is that Christmas trees started with medieval plays. Dramas depicting biblical themes began as part of the church's worship, but by the late Middle Ages, they had become rowdy, imaginative performances dominated by laypeople and taking place in the open air. The plays celebrating the Nativity were linked to the story of creation—in part because Christmas Eve was also considered the feast day of Adam and Eve. Thus, as part of the play for that day, the Garden of Eden was symbolized by a "paradise tree" hung with fruit. These plays were banned in many places in the 16th century, and people perhaps began to set up "paradise trees" in their homes to compensate for the public celebration they could no longer enjoy.

The earliest Christmas trees (or evergreen branches) used in homes were referred to as "paradises." They were often hung with round pastry wafers symbolizing the Eucharist, which developed into the cookie ornaments decorating German Christmas trees today. The custom gained popularity throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, against the protests of some clergy. Lutheran minister Johann von Dannhauer, for instance, complained (like Tertullian) that the symbol distracted people from the true evergreen tree, Jesus Christ. But this did not stop many churches from setting up Christmas trees inside the sanctuary. Alongside the tree often stood wooden "pyramids"—stacks of shelves bearing candles, sometimes one for each family member. Eventually these pyramids of candles were placed on the tree, the ancestors of our modern Christmas tree lights and ornaments. It also took a long time for trees to become associated with presents. Though legend connects the idea of Christmas gifts with the gifts the Magi brought Jesus, the real story is more complicated.

Like trees, gifts were first a Roman practice—traded during the winter solstice. As Epiphany, and later Christmas, replaced the winter solstice as a time of celebration for Christians, the gift-giving tradition continued for a while. By late antiquity it had died out, although gifts were still exchanged at New Year's. Gifts were also associated with St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra (in modern-day Turkey), who became famous for giving gifts to poor children. His feast day (December 6) thus became another occasion for gift exchanges. During the early Middle Ages, Christmas gifts most often took the form of tributes paid to monarchs—although a few rulers used the holiday season as an opportunity to give to the poor or to the church instead (most notably Duke Wenceslas of Bohemia, whose story inspired the popular carol, and William the Conqueror, who chose Christmas 1067 to make a large donation to the pope). Like trees, gifts came "inside" the family around the time of Luther, as the custom of giving gifts to friends and family members developed in Germany, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia.

Often these were given anonymously, or hidden. One Danish custom was to rewrap a gift many times with different names on each wrapper, so that the intended recipient was only discovered when all the layers were opened. In the English-speaking world, the union of gifts, trees, and Christmas was due to the influence of Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert, a native of Saxony (now part of Germany). German immigrants had brought the custom of Christmas trees with them in the early 1800s, but it spread widely after Victoria and Albert set up an elaborate tree for their children at Windsor Castle in 1841. At this point, Christmas presents were usually hung on the tree itself. German and Dutch immigrants also brought their traditions of trees and presents to the New World in the early 1800s. The image of happy middle-class families exchanging gifts around a tree became a powerful one for American authors and civic leaders who wished to replace older, rowdier, and more alcohol-fueled Christmas traditions—such as wassailing—with a more family-friendly holiday.