National Christmas Tree Day Date in the current year: December 8, 2024

A Christmas tree is one of the most iconic symbols of the winter holiday season. The roots of the modern tradition of decorating an evergreen tree for Chritsmas can be traced back to pagan tree worship rites, but the modern Christmas tree is believed to have originated in present-day Germany, Estonia and Latvia around the 15th century.

After the Protestant Reformation, upper-class protestant families installed Christmas trees in their houses as a counterpart to nativity scenes favored by Catholics. In the 19th century, the custom acquired popularity in other countries, at first among the upper classes and then among the general population as well.

Over the years, the tradition of decorating evergreen trees during the winter holiday season has lost some of its religious connotations. For example, in some former Soviet republics, Christmas trees are known as New Year’s trees and are associated with the celebration of New Year’s eve and day. In the countries where Christmas trees are still referred to as Christmas trees, they are common even in non-religious households.

The tradition of installing public Christmas trees became popular in the early 20th century. Outdoor Christmas trees are put up by city and town administrations, as well as by department stores and other businesses. The act of gifting a Christmas tree also has been historically associated with the end of hostilities and gratitude for one country’s assistance to another during a war. For example, Oslo gives a Christmas tree to the people of London to thank Britain for supporting Norwegian resistance during WWII.

National Christmas Tree Day in the United States is celebrated on December 8. It is an unofficial holiday created by Jace Shoemaker-Galloway, a freelance writer and editor nicknamed the “Queen of Holidays” due to having written thousands of articles about unusual holidays celebrated around the world, as well as having created a few quirky holidays of her own.

Canadians celebrate National Christmas Tree Day on the first Saturday of December. The Canadian version of the holiday was launched by the Canadian Christmas Tree Growers Association along with provincial Christmas tree farmers associations to remind people that early December is high time to buy and decorate a Christmas tree, as well as to highlight the environmental benefits of Christmas tree farms.

The best way to celebrate National Christmas Tree Day is, of course, to pick out the perfect Christmas tree, set it up, decorate it with ornaments, tinsel and fairy lights, snap a photo of your tree, and post it on social media with the hashtags #ChristmasTreeDay and #NationalChristmasTreeDay to spread the world about the holiday and encourage others to kick off the Christmas season if they haven’t done it yet.