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August Imgard
Augustus "August" Imgard (1828-1904) was a German immigrant who has been recognized as an early proponent in popularizing the Christmas tree in the United States. He has also been credited with being the first to decorate it with candy canes. Biography August Imgard emigrated from the Bavarian mountains of Germany to Wooster, Ohio before he was 20 years old and started a tailoring business. In 1847, Imgard cut a blue spruce tree from a woods outside town, had the village tinsmith construct a star, and placed the tree in his house, decorating it with paper ornaments, gilded nuts and Kuchen. It stood on a slowly revolving platform while a music box played and people came from miles around to view it. Imgard died in 1904, is buried in the Wooster Cemetery, and every year, a large pine tree above his grave is lit with Christmas lights. Although no longer credited as the first to introduce the Christmas tree to America, Imgard is still recognized as an early proponent. The National C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas Tree
A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The custom was further developed in early modern Germany where German Protestant Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. It acquired popularity beyond the Lutheran areas of Germany and the Baltic governorates during the second half of the 19th century, at first among the upper classes. The tree was traditionally decorated with "roses made of colored paper, apples, wafers, tinsel, nd sweetmeats". Moravian Christians began to illuminate Christmas trees with candles, which were often replaced by Christmas lights after the advent of electrification. Today, there is a wide variety of traditional and modern ornaments, such as garlands, baubles, tinsel, and candy canes. An angel or star might be placed at the top of the tree to represent the Angel Gabriel or the Star of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
