Aluminum Christmas Tree

Christmas is a happening event. A lot of things like decoration, Christmas tree, food, and parties are associated with the festival. A Christmas tree is center of attraction throughout the Christmas. The Christmas tree is available in both real and artificial types. The real Christmas tree is known for its green color and great smell but it is tough to maintain it. As a result, people opt for the artificial Christmas trees. There are different varieties of artificial Christmas trees. The tree is made out of materials like feathers, brushes aluminum, plastic and optic fiber. Today, people prefer an artificial tree made out of plastic or optical fiber.

Aluminum Christmas trees were quite popular in 1950s and 1960s. These trees were not green in color yet the metallic finishing attracted the customers towards it. The central pole made out of wood or aluminum had holes that held the aluminum branches. The aluminum foil needles gave them a look of Christmas tree. The tree took just fifteen minutes to assemble. The tree was first manufactured in Chicago in 1958 by the company Modern Coatings Inc. Later the trees were made by Aluminum Specialty Company from Wisconsin and Manitowoc units. During the decade of sixties, the sale of Aluminum Christmas tree had reached great heights.

The tree could not be decorated with lights which was a problem with this type. Safety was an issue as using live wire of electric lights could cause short circuit as the tree was made out of metal. The light effect was given to the tree with the help of a color wheel which was placed at the bottom of the tree on the floor. When the light was switched on the colors were reflected through the metallic branches. This looked good and therefore, every household bought an aluminum tree that was easy to assemble, store and cheaper option then real Christmas tree.

The Aluminum trees were used as piece of decoration in the homes and it quickly gained popularity. They were fire resistant and could be used year after year, were the other two reasons that made the tree popular. The tree was a symbol of how industrialization has commercialized the festival of Christmas. After 1960, many people started satirizing the tree and how commercialization has entered human life. There was awareness created about how the environment friendly, real trees are perfect symbols of Christmas. This lead to fall in the sales of the trees and slowly they started disappearing from the markets.

Today, we do not see aluminum trees but metallic trees that are pre lit with modern LED lights. This is a new trend. The Christmas trees have changed with the passing time and a lot of innovation is seen. There are some vintage stores and websites that sell these vintage aluminum trees. Some families buy them for their attractive looks. But the number is very small.