>From Amish Country News, which is not necessarily a scholarly site: It is claimed that the first known written mention of a Christmas tree in America is found in the 1821 diary of Matthew Zahn, a Lancastrian! Undoubtedly, the Christmas tree tradition was brought to America by the German settlers, and trees were fairly common by the 1820’s. It may very well be that Lancaster is the home of the Christmas tree in America! However, from the Library of Congress site: 1821 - The Germanic custom of having a specially decorated tree at Christmas time was introduced to America by Pennsylvania Dutch in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Later in the century, the Pennsylvania Dutch version of St. Nicholas, Sinterklaas, evolved into America's Santa Claus, popularized by a German immigrant and influential political cartoonist, Thomas Nast. The Easter bunny and Easter eggs were also brought to this country by German immigrants.
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