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A Singing Christmas Tree, sometimes called a Living Christmas Tree, is an artificial Christmas tree filled with singers used as part of nativity plays. First appearing in 1933 at Belhaven University, they later made their debut indoors in 1956 in Sacramento, California. Constructed of steel, the tree is actually a conical circular sector where between one-third and one-half of an actual Christmas tree is shown. Depending upon tree size, they can accompany between 30 and 450 singers. These trees can be put up by churches or communities depending upon the location. Since then, the singing Christmas tree concept has spread to Canada, the Philippines, South Korea, Switzerland and Sri Lanka. The most attended tree takes place in Knoxville, Tennessee, with 60,000 attendees in 2007. ==History== The first Christmas trees came to the United States in the 1740s from Moravian (now part of the Czech Republic) settlers.〔"Tree, Christmas". (2000). In ''The World Encyclopedia of Christmas''. Gerry Bowler, Editor. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Limited. pp. 226–28.〕 In 1851, the first commercial tree lot in the United States was set up in New York City.〔 President of the United States Franklin Pierce set up the first Christmas tree in the White House in 1856.〔 Artificial trees were first developed in Germany in the 19th century over concerns of deforestation in the their native homeland along with fire safety issues.〔 By the 1960s, artificial trees become very popular in the United States.〔 Christmas caroling originated in Europe in the 13th century with an interest in the birth of Jesus, including the nativity.〔"Carol". (2000). In ''The World Encyclopedia of Christmas''. Gerry Bowler, Editor. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Limited. pp. 37–38.〕 Caroling continued throughout Europe until the Protestant Reformation of 1517–1648 which led to the halt of the religious use of carols in some Protestant countries, such as England and Scotland.〔 Despite being banned from European churches, they were still sung in homes and by door-to-door carolers on begging visits (charity solicitations) during Christmas despite protestations from the Puritan revolution in England in the 1640s.〔 Caroling was done a limited basis between 1660 and the 19th century.〔 By 1878, caroling was revived by the Church of England when it was combined with scripture reading to form a worship service called "Lessons and Carols".〔 Caroling's growth has continued into the 20th century both in Europe and the United States and is now part of Christmas music.〔 One of the caroling traditions in homes was to sing around the Christmas tree. In 1933, Belhaven College (Belhaven University since 1 January 2010) in Jackson, Mississippi, became the first place to have a "Singing Christmas Tree" though it has been outdoors on an annual basis.〔(Belhaven College Singing Christmas Tree. ) – accessed 15 December 2009.〕 The first indoor singing Christmas tree would take place in December of 1941 at Denver's West High School in Colorado. The first performance featured fifty students dressed in choir robes, adorned with glittering home-made ornaments and halos. Every singer held evergreen branches and stood on a wooden framework in the shape of a Christmas tree and sang nine Christmas carols at a school assembly. Since its inception, the high school choir tree has received nationwide and international recognition. During World War II, pictures of the tree were printed in many major newspapers, eliciting letters from soldiers around the world who responded to the simple, yet awesome beauty of the tree. A decade after its creation, a life-size photograph of the tree was displayed in New York's Rockefeller Center. The tree was first used as an outreach tool for Christmas in 1963 in Van Nuys, California.〔(First Baptist Church of Montgomery, Alabama, Living Christmas Tree history. ) – accessed 15 December 2009.〕 The first steel-framed tree with choir risers was constructed by Millard Heath Specialties〔(Millard Heath Specialties – About the company. ) – accessed 15 December 2009.〕 of Denton, Texas, for the First Baptist Church in their city in 1972 (That tree was still in use in Callahan, Florida, as of April 2005.).〔〔 Millard Heath alone has constructed over 200 "trees" for churches in 30 American states and outside the United States.〔 Among the locations for Singing Christmas Trees outside the United States are in Pampanga, Philippines;〔("SM unveils 'singing' Christmas tree." ) ''Sun Star'' (Pampanga, Philippines). It's also the featured annual Christmas concert at Greenhills Christian Fellowship in Ortigas Center, Pasig City, Philippines. 7 December 2009. Accessed 15 December 2009.〕 Suwon, South Korea;〔(Millardheath.com photo gallery of Living Christmas Trees worldwide, including the tree in Suwon, South Korea. ) – accessed 15 December 2009.〕 Winnipeg, Manitoba;〔(LivingChristmasTree.ca in Winnipeg, MB, Canada. ) – accessed 15 December 2009.〕 Yarmouth, Nova Scotia;〔(Yarmouth (Nova Scotia) Wesleyan Church Living Christmas Tree. ) – accessed 15 December 2009.〕 and Zurich, Switzerland.〔(Yahoo! Travel tourist attractions in Zurich, Switzerland, including the Singing Christmas Tree. ) – accessed 15 December 2009.〕 The current tallest Singing Christmas Tree in America is in Muskegon, Michigan at 67 feet tall, 55 piece band and 300 choir students. This is put on by Mona Shores High School under the direction of Shawn Lawton. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Singing Christmas Tree」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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