The average Christmas tree has 25,000 bugs aphids, spiders and mites, adelgids, pine needle scale, sawfly, praying mantises, and bark beetles. Glamour magazine says praying mantises are the worst because they can bring up to 400 eggs into a home. So let’s bring a tree into our home!

While the trees may bring disgusting, unwanted guests along, Christmas can be a dangerous time of year in other ways. Hanging lights can put someone in the emergency room. Christmas tree history started with “The Vikings in Scandinavia thought that evergreens were the special plant of the sun god, Balder. Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes.

I am amazed that somewhere along the timeline of the Christmas tree, people used lit candles to decorate their trees.

I don’t know how the above tree didn’t burst into flames and destroy the home, but I suspect the use of a heavy fire retardant. But truthfully, I don’t know. I do know firefighters seem to get called in frequently to put out fires this time of year. There are other dangerous Christmas traditions that mostly have gone away, here are some of them:

In addition to the use of real candles on trees, people in the 40’s used fake snow made of asbestos, a cancer causing mineral. The long strands of tinsel used to be made of lead, a possible poison. Now they are made of mylar.

I grew up with mini retro lava lamps that contain liquids with low boiling points (such as methylene chloride) that are heated by a bulb, giving them that signature bubbly look. Luckily, these ornaments are only dangerous if broken—the liquid is harmful if swallowed and can be absorbed through the skin. Even so, you can still find old packs of Noma brand bubble lights on eBay.

And finally, there are those aluminum Christmas trees, that won’t catch fire, but since they are metal, can conduct electricity from a faulty string of lights and produce shocking results. As far as lighting goes, use a rotating color wheel, like this from Johnson County Museum. You still want one? Buy one for $35 at the Vermont Country Store.)

It makes me want to just stick with a Festivus pole.

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