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From Springfield Republican: December 26, 1937
The First New England Christmas Tree
Determination of priority in any achievement or evolution is one of the commonest subjects of debate and inquiry. According to an article in the Hartford Times the village of Lanesboro was the scene of the first church Christmas tree in New England. This distinction may already be counted among the traditions of Berkshire county, which does not lack publicity of one kind or another. But the story, as told in a pleasantly written article by James M. Adams, a retired former member of the Time’s staff, is worth repeating.
Credit for the idea is given to Rev. C. Collard Adams of Cromwell, Ct., who was then pastor of St. Luke’s Church, Lanesboro. “There on Christmas Eve, 1875, gathered people from the village, and from villages for miles around, for word had gone forth that there was to be a Christmas tree in the church- the first tree ever set up in a New England church.”
St. Luke’s was - and is - an Episcopal church, and Episcopal tradition was never hostile to Christmas, as Puritan tradition was, most aggressively for the first century of New England life. If St. Luke’s was the first New England church to have a Christmas tree, the fact is of some interest in Episcopal history as well as general church and social history. And Lanesboro has a distinction to remember besides being the native town of Josh Billings.
The First New England Christmas Tree
Determination of priority in any achievement or evolution is one of the commonest subjects of debate and inquiry. According to an article in the Hartford Times the village of Lanesboro was the scene of the first church Christmas tree in New England. This distinction may already be counted among the traditions of Berkshire county, which does not lack publicity of one kind or another. But the story, as told in a pleasantly written article by James M. Adams, a retired former member of the Time’s staff, is worth repeating.
Credit for the idea is given to Rev. C. Collard Adams of Cromwell, Ct., who was then pastor of St. Luke’s Church, Lanesboro. “There on Christmas Eve, 1875, gathered people from the village, and from villages for miles around, for word had gone forth that there was to be a Christmas tree in the church- the first tree ever set up in a New England church.”
St. Luke’s was - and is - an Episcopal church, and Episcopal tradition was never hostile to Christmas, as Puritan tradition was, most aggressively for the first century of New England life. If St. Luke’s was the first New England church to have a Christmas tree, the fact is of some interest in Episcopal history as well as general church and social history. And Lanesboro has a distinction to remember besides being the native town of Josh Billings.
