If I asked you to close your eyes and imagine Christmas, what would you see? You'd probably imagine a picturesque snowy village, illuminated by the glow of candles. The candles are probably perched in the windows of colonial-style homes lined up one after the other. That is an idealized vision of Christmas; and for many Americans it looks nothing like reality.
A retired scientist and Windsor Locks historian refutes the long-touted claim that the town was the first in New England (maybe the nation) to host a Christmas tree. The first selectman calls him a Grinch.
UpdatedThu, Dec 24, 2020 at 9:04 am ET
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The site of the first decorated Christmas tree in the nation happens to be in Connecticut. (Tim Jensen/Patch)
WINDSOR LOCKS, CT The latest trek to a Hidden Gem takes us to what is, by all accounts, the site of the first decorated Christmas tree in the nation that happens to be in Connecticut.
OK, we didn t even have a nation yet. The origin dates back to 1777 and the surrender of the British army during the American Revolution, shortly after the loss at Saratoga in the fall. As legend has it (along with the Windsor Locks Historical Society), a group of Hessian soldiers, now POWs, were making their way to a camp near Boston.