Christmas Trees and their history was the program given by Nancy Swafford at the December meeting of the Great Bend Garden Club.
A lot of myths exist concerning the early origins of Christmas trees. “Everlasting life” is the meaning behind evergreen trees, which were commonly used. In the early 1800s, most trees were decorated using simple things such as apples, nuts, dates, and paper decorations. Before electricity, candles were used to light the trees. Most tree toppers were replicas of baby Jesus, while most of today’s trees are topped with angels or stars.
Tinsel had an interesting history. The legend was that poor families imagined Christmas spiders spinning webs on their trees that turned into beautiful gold or silver decoration.
Artificial trees became popular in Germany in the late 1800s, with some of the early ones being made of ostrich feathers clipped short and dyed green.
Time was spent with club members sharing their Christmas tree decorating experiences in both their homes and churches.
Delicious cookies were made by hostess Nancy Williams.
Nancy Swafford will be the program leader for the January 18 meeting and Sharon East will serve as hostess. Guests are always welcome to attend.