[?] As a dutchmen I am curious why it is an American tradition to run trains around your Christmas tree, it is an idea also getting over to europe the last years, but what is the connection between trains and christmas, does it have to do something with the fact that trains used to bring families and friends together for the holidays in the days everyone didn’t have own transportation?
or is it an excuse to to bring the model-railroad into the livingroom?
Damned if I know. Very possibly it is as you think or maybe Norman Rockwell painted one in one of his Christmas paintings for Coca-Cola. More likely, it gave the Dad a chance to play with the train he was giving his son for Christmas before the kid got up.
I don’t have an answer to that question either. We did it for the first time last year with the Hogwart’s Express set by Bachman for the fun of ot and the boys are into Harry Potter also and thought it would be a neat thing to do.
It’s been a tradition for years. You’d rarely ever see one of those old Coca-Cola Santa advertisments without a Lionel train going around the tree.
cliffgp7 Welcome aboard.
i saw a segment on the HISTORY CHANNEL, I can’t confirm this but many years ago toy trains were very expensive and DAD bought a train set for christmas because he saved up all year for the holiday. after christmas the kids got tired of playing with it. summer comes along ,why stay inside and play with trains. next christmas lets set up the train around the tree,thus we gain interest in the choo-choo again. and around the tree it goes.
Lionel trains were, for many years, THE prime Christmas gift one could get. They were as expensive then as now (adjusted for inflation) and lots of families bought one accessory or car or whatever a year to add on.
This connection between getting a train for Christmas is quite ingrained in American culture, and it was just a short step to putting one under the tree to play with in advance of the holiday.
Once upon a time, all the “department stores”–if you remember those–would display train sets at this time of year. Sometimes, even elaborate display layouts. They’d be set up and running all December. Those were good days.
I often thing about buying a circle of O27 track and some Lionel trains, with a Santa Fe F7, of course, to honor that tradition. Maybe I’ll do it.
I’d say it has more to do with the popularity of Train Sets as a gift than anything else. The “circle of track on the living room floor” has a lot of cultural resonance in the UK as well - nearly everyone of my parents generation and a fair few of my generation (I’m 21) can remember getting a trainset as a Christmas present and setting it up on the carpet (At the time, of course, we didn’t realise the chaos that dust and carpet fuzz/hair cause in mechanisms, and as for the danger of the younger siblings trampling on something…).
“Once upon a time, all the “department stores”–if you remember those–would display train sets at this time of year. Sometimes, even elaborate display layouts. They’d be set up and running all December. Those were good days.”
Oh my gosh! I had forgotten about the great layouts department stores used to have around Christmas back in the 60’s. Thanks for bringing back the memories.
A Christmas tree looks naked without a train underneath! Not having a train underneath is like walking around without any pants!
Another reason is that around the turn of the century “Christmas Gardens” (villiages) became popular to put under the tree. Naturally, a train would look good running throught it. The main reason though, as stated, is that way back decades ago, a train was something very special and expensive. Only a big holiday like Christmas would warrant getting something so special.
It also goes back to the tradition of having Jr wake up Christmas morning, run into the living room to find the train set there, running around on the floor, magicly as if Santa Claus himself had set it up in the middle of the night just for Jr.
Of course we know Dear Ol’ Dad set it up the night before…he did, didn’t he???
Im not sure why, but i think its great fun
THANKS for all the reactions!
and a very merry Christmass to you all!
keep them trains rolling and not only beneath the X-mas tree!
I just est up my harry potter HO set 'rond our tree. Looks great, the red is a good color.
L-UP-O,
I don’t know the answer. That’s how I got my first train, though, and my start in the World’s Greatest Hobby way back in 1956 with a Lionel 0-gauge set. On birthdays and various “ocassions”, Dad would buy “me” something new for the layout. He eventually built a 4 by 8 foot table in the basement for the train, added scenery, buildings, lights, operating accessories. I think he got it all out of his system because ever since he has absolutely ZERO interest in model railroading.
I would like to have an O or G-scale circle of track around my tree now, but I haven’t figure out how to integrate it realistically and respectfully with the nativity scene.
Happy Holidays, all!
L-UP-O - I think it’s a great tradition also, and also being Dutch I don’t know the origin either.
what I can say is that my 6 year old daughter was drawing a Christmas / winter picture a few days ago. She completed the snowflakes, Christmas tree, manger etc and then came to me with a question: Daddy, I’ve made the railroad track (around the tree), but can you draw the train? It was an unexpected thrill. I took the next few minutes and drew a 3d micro train on the pencil drawing. She was happy. Then went to bed.
Got me thinking though. I went to my train room and dug out some extra track etc. In the morning I had a short circle track set up - ready for the train. My daughter was SOOOO excited that she was jumping up and down, delighted by the idea. The tree will be decorated this weekend…
I remember reading about this in the MR quite a few years ago. The explanation given then was that in the victorian period electric trains were jut coming out (some of them were live steam, that was when it was guage 1,2,3 and 4 and guage 0 or O as it is now know was a bit like the modern Z guage).
These things were big and difficult to wrap (less presents were wraped then anyway) so the obvious solution was to set it up and arround the tree meant it didn’t take up too much space and looked pretty so the tradition was started.
that’s what I heard anyway.
Neil
I’m not sure of the historical/cultural reasons, but I’d like to advance a more current reason for why we run them around our Christmas trees today (other than "that’s the way we’ve always done it).
Like so many others, I have my layouts in the basement, or tucked away somewhere else. The Christmas tree train is the only time I have to bring my hobby into the living room. My kids get a bigger kick out of the Christmas train than the layout anyway.
I think also you need to look at kids’ imaginations. What do they see that fascinates them so much about that train? With almost no scenery they are totally absorbed by it. Do they see the tree as a large mountain? Do they imagine Santa shipping lots of presents in that train? Does the travel of the train represent the coming of many, many presents? We didn’t have a train around the tree when I grew up, so I cannot say. But I do know my kids love that little 0-4-0 with tender, two passenger cars, and caboose (if you can imagine that combination)!
A couple years ago I took full advantage and set that train up on an extra living room table, with a bunch of HO buildings and a variety of Christmas decorations and scenese (none of it in any coherent scale). Everyone loved that “layout”.
-Jer
I received my trains at Christmas, but they weren’t set up around the tree. Expensive… might have set the train up next to the tree, but it wasn’t around. It was my train, perhaps a Santa present, those were not wrapped. Got my first train in the 3rd grade, was 9, at least another year before getting a nicer train, the Lionel. Would have been '55 for the 1st.
My first wife’s family was all girls, they had a train every time, she got me one the second christmas. It never ran around the tree.
So not tradition, just common. I was trains all year when I wanted.
I run my HO genesis BNSF around the christmas tree. it just reminds me of my first train that was a O and it was near the chirstmas tree. I guess I always love to have train better than anything in the store! Train would be my first choose.!