The First American Christmas Tree…in Connecticut?
A Yankee Institute End of Year Appeal and Hidden in the Oak
*This was part of an all-Yankee Institute staff fundraising appeal
Dear Friends,
Thank you for being part of Yankee Institute’s annual year-end fundraising campaign. After the second day, we’re excited to share that we’re now just $22,000 away from reaching our $30,000 goal. Your support will help us make Connecticut more prosperous for businesses and families in 2025.
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On Election Day, I was attending morning Mass at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Milford, Conn., my hometown. Like most Americans, I simply wanted the presidential race over with — and I prayed not so much for *my* candidates to win, but for peace and that, ultimately, God’s will would be done.
But as I sat in the pews (of which I don’t frequent enough), the lector recited Psalm 22 which reads, in part, “The generation to come will be told of the Lord, that they may proclaim to people yet unborn the deliverance you have brought.”
“People yet unborn” struck me. Too often, you and I worry about the future. After all, we are only human. It seems in our nature to worry. But there is getting bogged down by our daily tasks and anxieties versus constructive goals and reflecting on legacy. The latter must be considered every so often, no matter how daunting it can be: what good did you and I do in our lifetimes to protect our inalienable rights; to inspire innovation and creativity; and to help our neighbors in need.
Indeed, we do not exist in a vacuum. Time will ever dutifully march on, as it has done for billions of years, long after we have shaken this mortal coil. And we may not be remembered individually — we may not be singled out in the history books. Even within our families, our great-great-grandchildren may fail at trying to recall our names. Trust me: most of us will slip into obscurity.
But not our actions. The fight for liberty and goodness we strive for today will reverberate throughout the centuries. It will be visible, not only in law, but in our civil society: in our communities, streets, businesses, schools, farms, parks, shorelines, forests and so on. This is what “Hidden in the Oak” — Yankee Institute’s award-winning historical newsletter — hopes to convey, and one I’ve enjoyed writing this past year. We are people in history, and the past tangibly impacts the present. With that knowledge, we can chart a course to a brighter, more hopeful future.
That is Yankee Institute’s mission. We want all people to thrive and discover their God-given talents here. We want families to stay together, and not moving away due to progressive, over-taxing policies. We want to protect our home.
You and I are not on the sidelines — we are in the foxhole together. We both know there are enormous challenges, even outright threats to our liberties. But we are a hopeful people. We know good will triumph if we keep heart and unify.
Every dollar you give is a bold act of fighting the good fight — of fighting for your loved ones. For commonsense. For economic prosperity. For fewer burdensome regulations. For more freedom. We are $22,000 away from our goal of $30,000
Will you stay in the fight with me? -Click HERE to donate!
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all of your support from this past year and years passed. We, the people of Connecticut and the “people yet unborn,” are forever grateful.
The First Christmas Tree?
Speaking of legacy and Connecticut’s rich history, the Constitution State may have been home to the first American Christmas tree. At least, so claims Windsor Locks.
A marker outside the town’s Noden-Reed Museum states, “Site of the first decorated Christmas tree in New England.” It’s a bold assertion. But is it far-fetched?
Best to start with the roots of the matter. The Christmas tree originated in Germany around the 16th century. According to History.com, Martin Luther — the theologian who inspired the Protestant Reformation — “first added lighted candles to a tree” after walking home one winter night. Indeed, German traditions are commonplace in the holiday season, from music (like “Silent Night”), the Advent Calendar and even the Advent Wreath.
While Christmas in Germany was unabashed in its Yuletide merriment with lights, traditions and festivities, Christmas in the New World was more subdued or outright banned. For example, in 1659, the Puritanical General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony criminalized any public celebrations of Jesus Christ’s birth. As History.com notes, if caught, violators were charged and “subject to a 5-shilling fine.”
In short, no Puritan or non-German Christian — and, therefore, early Americans — decorated their home with a Christmas tree.
However, this (might have) changed with the American Revolution.
To quell the rebellious colonists, the British Army enlisted Hessian (or German) mercenaries throughout the war’s duration. One such soldier who fought against the Continental Army was Hendrick Roddemore. Not much is known about the man, apart from colonial forces capturing him after the Battle of Bennington (Aug. 16, 1777) in Vermont. The British Army’s loss that day eventually became a “major factor” in its defeat at the Battle of Saratoga several months later, which historians state was a “turning point in the Revolutionary War.”
Roddemore, meanwhile, was not present at Saratoga. Instead, he was placed in the custody of Samuel Denslow, who owned a 100-acre farm in Windsor Locks. According to the Windsor Locks Historical Society, Roddemore had a relatively comfortable living arrangement with his own cabin on the property. Later that year, as the historical society states, “It was within this small cabin in Windsor Locks in 1777 that the German POW from the Battle of Bennington began the tradition of the indoor Christmas tree in America, probably on Dec. 23, the traditional German custom for raising a Christmas tree.”
Did the Hessian soldier erect the first Christmas tree in America? One can’t be too sure, but to dismiss it outright might be a “bah, humbug” attitude. Someone had to be first — why not in Connecticut?
With that, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and Hanukkah; and I pray you, your family and loved ones have a blessed new year.
Till next time —
Your Yankee Doodle Dandy,
Andy Fowler
Communications Specialist