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Talk:Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor

Untitled
Well, whoever Ken Nygaard is and whatever relationship he may thing he have to Conrad II, he's no historian. "Even the minority opposition" makes the situation sound like a modern parliamentary democracy! Which one of Charlemagne's daughters? If Ken is going to make a genealogical claim like that, he should give a NAME (since we know the names of them all). --MichaelTinkler

This article has altogether too many positive adjectives and not nearly enough exposition. He was prudent, firm, genial, strong, etc., etc. And one thing the monarchy NEVER was in Germany was invulnerable. In fact, monarchs and monarchial institutions are never invulnerable. That's why they work so hard to stay in power. This is a love-letter to Conrad II rather than an encyclopedia article. And to say about Boleslav simply and without explanation "He was a subject of the German monarchy, who had quickly made himself king upon the death of emperor Henry II in 1024" is grossly inadquate. Oh, well. --MichaelTinkler

Where DID you find this, HJ? This Ken Nygaard isn't writing for an English-speaking audience. To say "Milan (Mailand)" is entirely irrelevant. The name of the city might be translated "Milano", but its German name is pointless. -MichaelTinkler

A substantive question for historians - would Aribert (and I think he's Heribert in the English version) have crowned Conrad King of Italy or King of Lombardy? Or is it King of the Lombards even this late? I don't remember (my standard excuse for everything after 1000). --MichaelTinkler -- I wrote it, based on Ken Nygaard. He shows his sources at http://nygaard.50g.com/files/Sources.htm user:H.J. -- To the Milan question, Mailand was the official name for the HRE city. K Nygaard did not write Mailand. HJ

The city's name is Milano. We call it 'Milan'. If there was an 'official' language of the Holy Roman Empire in the 11th century, it was Latin, not German, and the city's name was Mediolanum. --MichaelTinkler

From Ketil Nygaard's ancestor page:
 * Conrad became known for showing strength and incorruptible justice in maintaining his power.

So, I cut the line about 'incorruptible justice.' By the way, his main source for the emperors seems to be Britannica Online, so if you're copying from him, HJ, and he's copying from them, it's not much use to US. --MichaelTinkler

I honestly think we need to just quit with the whole Boleslaw Chrobry was a vassal thing until a couple of people who actually can read Latin and have no Polish/German nationality to defend can do the checking. It won't hurt to add it later, and will help keep us all on track. It is very irresponsible to continue to put forward articles that beg controversy, and which cannot be supported in a way that many of us request. Also, this kind of panegyric just isn't good history -- although acceptable a hundred years ago!JHK
 * would it be useful to say about Boleslaw: who was a tributary of the German kings? "Tributary" is at least true - he paid tribute.  --MichaelTinkler

--- To JHK and MichaelTinkler From A History of Germany, H.E. Marshall, London Hodder & Stoughton, 1913:

" But as the procession passed merrily along, three poorly-clad, miserable figures thrust their way through the glittering throng of knights and nobles who surrounded the King. They were a peasant, a widow, and an orphan, who, casting themselves at the King's feet, cried aloud for justice. The nobles would have thrust them forth, angry that they should disturb the King at such a moment. But Conrad forbade it. He commanded the procession to stop until he had heard the complaint of the poor people. Provoked at the interruption, one of the bishops urged Conrad to hurry on to the Cathedral. But the King answered him calmly,"How often have you said to me that not the hearer of the law but the doer is blessed ? It is a heavy office that I have taken up, and surely I must walk in the paths of righteousness." So he refused to move from the spot until he had judged the cause of these poor and needy folk. And it seemed to the people that happy days must be dawning for them when their king began his reign with deeds of mercy, when he seemed more eager to do justice to the oppressed than to adorn himself with robes and crowns.

The whole Empire, however, did not at once accept Conrad as ruler. As soon as Henry II died the bold and rebellious Duke of Poland at once threw off all pretence of vassalage, and proclaimed himself King of Poland. He would not bend the knee to Conrad, but in little more than a year he died. He was succeeded by his son Mesco (Mieszko II HJ.), who also took the title of King. Conrad looked at this as rebellion, and war began. But it was only after many defeats and much bitter warfare, that Poland was again subdued .At length,however, Mesco was forced to submit, and although his heart was still filled with hatred to the Germans he gave up his title of King and swore to be Conrad's faithful vassal. Soon afterwards he died. Then the land was torn asunder by civil wars. Noble fought against noble, town against town, until the land was filled with blood and ashes, and the kingdom which Boleslaw the Glorious (Boleslaw I Chrobry HJ) had built up was scattered to the winds.

There was trouble too in Italy, and plots to seize the throne there. But they came to nothing. In 1026 Conrad was crowned King of Italy, and a year later Emperor in Rome." user:H.J.

 * HJ, why are you quoting this? It us popular history that verges on historical fiction;  the dialogue is not original. --MichaelTinkler.

 * I agree -- have you bothered to read the articles on reading and writing history that I recommended? The fact that you can quote a very dated source of the worst kind doesn't support your argument.  Michael is right about using the word tributary to describe the relationship -- at least until a neutral party who reads Latin well can go over the sources from which your modern sources take their account.   The last 50 years have seen incredible amounts of work done on lord-vassal relationships and legal classification of people and their roles.  These relationships are incredibly more complex than you tend to state, and are often very different from what you believe them to be.  Why must you insist on propagating ideas that are in question?  Have you read the sources in Latin (which will mostly represent things from an imperial viewpoint, but more on that later)?  Please just stop.  You can write tons of stuff without going to this particular place.  JHK  Oh -- and the Salian article should have been called Salians or Salian Dynasty.

 * Salians, I think, but wikipedia is terribly inconsistent about dynasties - that's not HJ's fault.  I have been messing with the caliphs, and some of them are filed under plurals (Abbasids, Ummayads) but some of the links have been set up as singulars.  I think that some people have misinterpreted the general style-recommendation of wikipedia that entries should be singulars to mean that even groups that are always referred to as groups should be treated as singular nouns.  But yes, the first sentence of Salian neeeds the words 'Salians', 'dynasty', and 'Holy Roman Empire'.  I don't think it had 'emperors' last night.

- you know, there are TONS of ways to say 'ascended the throne' other than acceeded -- which no one even uses in normal historical language. I vote for using some of them!!! User:JHK
 * oh, but then we couldn't cut'n'paste from genealogical lists! MichaelTinkler

Conrad II
the article says Conrad appeared as a candidate  before the elelctoral assembly in "Kamba" in the Rhineland. I've never heard of a place called Kamba in the Rhineland. I'm sure it's a mistake, but where was the assembly? Hans Dimpel - Kamba no longer exists, it was located near the current town of Oppenheim (am Rhein). (Source: Stefan Weinfurter, "Das Jahrhundert der Salier"), AD, Ottawa, 2006.

Holy Roman Emperor
Is it not incorrect to refer to Conrad II as 'Holy' Roman Emperor at this period? When I studied the high middle ages we would get heavily penalised for using Holy Roman instead of just Roman. The former title belongs to a much later part of medieval history.

 * Well whoever penalised you was either Frederick Barbarosa or someone too concerned with details. In any case, the true Romans were the Byzantines, as is emphasized time again in most academic discussions. So in fact, any German emperor in the middle ages, late dark ages and rennaisance were Holy Roman emperors and definetly not Roman. Though, to some extent, the Germans settling in France and what have you did so under Western Roman Imperial decree.Tourskin 04:30, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

 * I find "Holy Roman Emperor" always wrong. The empire has been called "Holy Roman". The emperor was just "of the Romans" or "Roman". The modern German terminology is "Römisch-deutsch" (Roman-German)which leaves no room for misunderstandings.--MacX85 (talk) 22:22, 15 May 2010 (UTC)

 * Of course! The self-titulation `Holy Roman Emperor´ appeared first in the 12th century, so it is an anachronism to use it for Konrad II.! He was an elected `rex germanicus´ (`longobardicus et burgundicus´ as well), hence he claimed the title of `rex romanorum´ by travelling to Rome, where he got crowned by the pope. Naturally it was (back in those days) more a political problem to call himself `imperator romanorum´, since the claim of the byzantinians was an older, better founded one. The dyarchic understanding of the `porphyrogennitae´ (don´t beat me if I am wrong) in Konstantinopel was a completely different one to the granted emperorship of the papal Rome.--139.30.128.38 (talk) 08:35, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

Conrad II needs substantial editing
'I edited this article to repair the grammar and sentence structure. (An example: Therefore, the burning of the palace should be excuse.  Conrad reject their argument, however, saying that just as a ship remains after the death of its captain, the Empire remains after the death of the Emperor.)  I think there are five paragraphs that should be deleted because they don't belong in this Conrad II article. I didn't want to delete five paragraphs without some discussion. I've marked my reasons for each deletion by bolding and italicizing them.' --- 'This history on the Salian dynasty is given in the article Salian dynasty, already referenced in the second sentence of the first paragraph. The Salian dynasty article could be added to the See Also section, if that first reference isn't enough. Covering all this Salian background again is not necessary.'

Family background

The Salian dynasty has its origins with Count Werner V of Worms, a mid-level Frankish noble from Germany's Duchy of Franconia east of the Rhine River. His son, Conrad the Red, succeeded him as Count in 941 and King Otto I of Germany (the future Holy Roman Emperor) appointed him as Duke of Lorraine in 944. He was subsequently married to Liutgarde, one of Otto's daughters, in 947 and became one of the king's closest allies. The relationship was strained, however, when Otto refused to honor a peace treaty Conrad, as Otto's representative, had conducted with the rebellious Berengar II of Italy. Conrad also resented the growing influence of Otto's brother Henry I of Bavaria, which he saw as threatening his own power. In 953 Conrad joined the king's son Liudolf in rebellion against Otto, but the rebellion was defeated and Conrad was stripped of his duchy. Conrad and Otto were soon reconciled, with Conrad fighting for Otto in the great Battle of Lechfeld in 955. Though the Germans were successful in halting the Hungarian invasions of Europe, Conrad lost his life in the battle. Conrad was succeed as Count of Worms in 956 by his son Otto of Worms, a grandson of Otto I. Sometime between 965 and 970 Otto of Worms' oldest son, Henry of Speyer, was born. Little is known of his life as he died the age of 20 between 985 and 990. --- 'This history on Otto II and Otto III is given in the articles Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor and Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor and doesn't specifically relate to Conrad II. The Otto articles could be added to the See Also section.'

In 978 Emperor Otto II appointed his nephew Otto of Worms as Duke of Carinthia after deposing the rebellious Duke Henry I of Carinthia during the War of the Three Henries. Upon receiving the ducal title, however, Otto lost his position at Worms, which was given to Bishop Hildebald, Otto II's imperial chancellor. When Otto II died suddenly in 983, his infant son Otto III succeeded him, with his mother Theophanu serving as regent. Theophanu sought to reconcile the imperial house with Henry I, restoring him as Duke of Carinthia in 985, with Otto of Worms allowed to regain his ancestral position as Count of Worms. However, Otto was allowed to style himself "Duke of Worms" and his original territory was expanded so as not to diminish his rank. Otto of Worms remained loyal to the new Emperor, receiving rulership of the March of Verona in 955, though the actual Duchy of Carinthia passed to Henry IV of Bavaria. In 996, Otto III appointed Otto of Worms's son Bruno as Pope Gregory V. When Emperor Otto III died in 1002, both Otto of Worms, Conrad the Elder's grandfather, and Henry IV were candidates for election as King of Germany. In a compromise, Otto withdrew and received the Duchy of Carinthia from the newly elected Henry IV, who ruled as Henry II of Germany, in return. As a result, Otto of Worms renounced his holdings in Worms to Bishop Burchard of Worms, a long-time political rival. Buchard assumed care for Conrad, providing his education and upbringing by 1000. - 'The following paragraph either needs to be rewritten or deleted. I couldn't figure out what the author was trying to say. Conrad the Younger was placed in which Conrad's care? This paragraph should only be in this article if Conrad the Younger was placed in Conrad II's care. Anything else belongs in another article.'

After the early death of his uncle Duke Conrad I of Carinthia, the elder Conrad's infant son, Conrad the Younger, was named Count of Worms by Emperor Henry II while the Duchy of Carinthia passed to Adalbero of Eppenstein due to Conrad the Younger's infancy. Conrad the Younger was placed in Conrad's care.

'Most of the information in Relations with Eastern Europe, Bohemia has already been presented in the Relations with Poland, War with Mieszko and Treaty of Merseburg sections. The information in the first five sentences of Relations with Eastern Europe, Bohemia does not appear in Relations with Poland, War with Mieszko or Treaty of Merseburg, but I don't see its relevance. Most of the Mieszko IIConrad II interactions are repeated, and shouldn't be. In the second paragraph below, there's only one sentence information that pertains to Conrad II: Bretislaus was then installed as the new Duke of Bohemia by Conrad. I think the whole section Bohemia should be deleted, and the subsequent section Hungary should be retitled Relations with Hungary. The Duchy of Bohemia article could be added to See Also.'

Relations with Eastern Europe

Bohemia

The Duchy of Bohemia was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire in 1004 during the German-Polish Wars (1002-1018). Emperor Henry II installed Jaromir as Duke of Bohemia and promised protection against Polish aggression in return for incorporation. Jaromir ruled only a smaller territory, as Poland occupied the traditional Czech territories of Moravia, Silesia, and Lusatia. In 1012, Jaromir was deposed by his brother Oldrich, who assumed the Bohemian throne for himself. Following the resumption of hostilities between the Empire and Poland in 1028, Oldrich went on the offensive against Poland, reconquering Moravia by 1029, which helped to stabilize his duchy. The war ended in 1031 when Polish King Mieszko II surrendered to Conrad II. In the civil war which followed, Meiszko fled Poland for Bohemia, where Oldrich had him imprisoned and castrated in revenge for the torture Meiszko's father, Bolesław I of Poland, inflicted upon Duke Boleslaus III, Oldrich's brother, thirty years before.

Poland was unable to stabilize in the wake of Mieszko's exile, forcing Conrad to convene an assembly in July 1033 to issue the Treaty of Merseburg which restored Meiszko to the Polish throne. Conrad summoned Oldrich to appear to the assembly, but Oldrich refused. His absence raised the ire of the Emperor and Conrad, busy with securing his succession to the Burgundy throne, charged his son Duke Henry of Bavaria with punishing the recalcitrant Bohemian. At age 17, Henry's march on Bohemia was his first independent military command. The expedition was complete success, with Henry deposing Oldrich and restoring his brother Jaromir to the Bohemian throne, with Oldrich's son Bretislaus I appointed as Count of Morovia. Oldrich was imprisoned in Bavaria but by 1034 was pardoned and allowed to return to Bohemia. Oldrich deposed and blinded Jaromir, reclaimed the Bohemian throne, and exiled his son. While the reason for the conflict between father and son has been lost, it is believed Bretislaus supported Jaromir over his father. Oldrich died suddenly on November 9, 1034, allowing Bretislaus to return from exile. Though Jaromir was offered the throne, he declined in favor of his nephew. Bretislaus was then installed as the new Duke of Bohemia by Conrad. --- So, is it OK to delete these paragraphs? Ninanta (talk) 21:27, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress
There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 22:32, 27 February 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor


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Talk:Clanking replicator

Credibility of design
Hmmm.

 * In 1998, Chris Phoenix proposed an ingenious design for a macroscale replicator on the sci.nanotech newsgroup. The replicator would operate in a pool of ultraviolet-cured liquid plastic, selectively solidifying it to form solid parts. Computation could be done by fluidic logic. Power for the process could be supplied by a pressurized source of the liquid.

There are a heck of a lot of cranks on Usenet proposing everything from better mousetraps to perpetual motion machines. If the only source for this design is a Usenet posting, and there's no other peer review or some credibility given by Mr Phoenix's credentials, I doubt it's of sufficient credibility to warrant a mention on our page. If no additional information is forthcoming, I'll remove it. --Robert Merkel

I'm the person who added that paragraph.

Chris Phoenix is a co-moderator of the sci.nanotech newsgroup. He has been a regular attendee of Foresight Institute conferences and gatherings for many years. He has studied nanotechnology with Eric Drexler, when Drexler gave a course on the subject at Stanford University. He is by no means a crank.

On the other hand, the proposal is not thoroughly researched or peer-reviewed like Robert Freitas's work in 1981, or Freitas's subsequent work on nanomedical devices. The 1981 work was done for NASA, and is written up at http://www.islandone.org/MMSG/aasm/AASMIndex.html. I should have probably referenced the Freitas work instead, but I am not as familiar with it as I should be, and I've always had some admiration for the ingenuity of Chris's idea.

WillWare

 * Thanks for the clarification. Some of this should be thrown into the main page somewhere to give the claim some more credibility. --Robert Merkel

Feasibility
I would argue that it's impossible to build a practically useful one right now. Self-repair, for instance, would require AI capabilities considerably beyond our present systems. --Robert Merkel
 * Not really. Human intelligence is not a requisite for self-replication/repair. Depends on the nature of the machine of course, but there are a number of AI technologies that could be useful. One is briefly discussed here: "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi_Human_Instinctive_Artificial_Intelligence". The computational means for an AI to function that could be reproduced by the operated machine would be more of a problem though. 203.129.23.146 (talk) 07:44, 29 April 2011 (UTC)

That's arguable I suppose, but still, "impossible" is a very bold claim for something that's entirely within the known laws of physics, and for which there are known designs and theories. I wouldn't have any problem with "practically impossible with current technology" or something a bit less bold. I don't know that AI repair would be necessary for something that can reproduce itself. If one unit failed, it wouldn't take fancy AI for others to simply notice that fact and rebuild another in its place from scratch. --LDC

 * Lee, "practically impossible with current technology" was exactly what I meant. --Robert Merkel

It hasn't actually been tried yet, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it's beyond our current technology; the NASA study linked to presents the case that a replicating system could already be built using 1980s-level technology. All it would take is throwing enough money at it. Therefore I think that "practically impossible with current technology" is incorrect, "practically impossible with current economics" is a better way of describing the situation IMO. Self-repair is specifically dealt with in one of the study's appendices, and can be handled much as LDC describes by testing and replacing defective components at whatever level of abstraction is most efficient (http://www.islandone.org/MMSG/aasm/AASM5H.html#5h3). --BD

constructing a clanking replicator is not considered to be of major economic interest at this time. Currently removed because no reference in article. I see some references here though. I'll check those and see. Kim Bruning 17:53, 8 May 2004 (UTC)

Moved comment to talk page
The following paragraph looks like discussion, so I moved it here, interesting though its point may be. --24.82.160.30 01:41, 11 September 2005 (UTC)

 * If multiple machines working together as a self-replicating community constitute self replication, then surely all we need to do is fully automate every manufacturing process required to make the components for the machines. Therfore I believe the fastest route to self replication would be for people to concentrate on automating existing manufacturing processes, thus eliminating the human aspect completely. - Joe Bourne

Grey goo
What is the relation between this article and Grey goo? Why does neither of them mention the other, and in fact, should they be merged? Shreevatsa (talk) 08:25, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

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Merge suggested
The article Self-replicating machine includes a note dated March 2015 proposing that this article (Clanking replicator) be merged with that one.

Seems like a good idea to me; they cover the same material. I propose we go forward with the merge. Geoffrey.landis (talk) 20:57, 13 June 2017 (UTC)

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Cahiers du Cinéma

Cahiers du Cinéma (, lit. 'notebooks on cinema') is a French film magazine co-founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca. It developed from the earlier magazine Revue du Cinéma (lit. 'review of cinema' established in 1928) involving members of two Paris film clubsObjectif 49 (Robert Bresson, Jean Cocteau, and Alexandre Astruc, among others; lit. 'objective 49') and Ciné-Club du Quartier Latin (lit. 'cinema club of the Latin Quarter').

Initially edited by Doniol-Valcroze and, after 1957, by Éric Rohmer (aka, Maurice Scherer), it included amongst its writers Jacques Rivette, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol, and François Truffaut, who went on to become highly influential filmmakers. It is the oldest French-language film magazine in publication.

History
The first issue of Cahiers appeared in April 1951. Much of its head staff, including Bazin, Doniol-Valcroze, Lo Duca, and the various younger, less-established critics, had met and shared their beliefs about film through their involvement in the publication of Revue du Cinéma from 1946 until its final issue in 1948; Cahiers was created as a successor to this earlier magazine.

Early issues of Cahiers were small journals of thirty pages which bore minimalist covers, distinctive for their lack of headlines in favor of film stills on a distinctive bright yellow background. Each issue contained four or five articles (with at least one piece by Bazin in most issues), most of which were reviews of specific films or appreciations of directors, supplemented on occasion by longer theoretical essays. The first few years of the magazine's publication were dominated by Bazin, who was the de facto head of the editorial board.

Bazin intended Cahiers to be a continuation of the intellectual form of criticism that Revue had printed, which prominently featured his articles advocating for realism as the most valuable quality of cinema. As more issues of Cahiers were published, however, Bazin found that a group of young proteges and critics serving as editors underneath him were beginning to disagree with him in the pages of the magazine. Godard would voice his discontent with Bazin as early as 1952, when he challenged Bazin's views on editing in an article for the September issue of Cahiers. Gradually, the tastes of these young critics drifted away from those of Bazin, as members of the group began to write critical appreciations of more commercial American filmmakers such as Alfred Hitchcock and Howard Hawks rather than the canonized French and Italian filmmakers that interested Bazin.

The younger critics broke completely with Bazin by 1954, when an article in the January issue by Truffaut attacked what he called La qualité française (lit. 'the French quality', usually translated as "The Tradition of Quality"), denouncing many critically respected French films of the time as being unimaginative, oversimplified, and even immoral adaptations of literary works. The article became the manifesto for the politique des auteurs (lit. 'the policy of the authors'), which became the label for Cahiers younger critics' emphasis on the importance of the director in the creation of a filmas a film's "author"and their re-evaluation of Hollywood films and directors such as Hitchcock, Hawks, Jerry Lewis, Robert Aldrich, Nicholas Ray, and Fritz Lang. Subsequently, American critic Andrew Sarris latched onto the word, "auteur", and paired it with the English word, "theory"; hence coining the phrase the "auteur theory" by which this critical approach is known in English-language film criticism.

After the publication of Truffaut's article, Doniol-Valcroze and most of the Cahiers editors besides Bazin and Lo Duca rallied behind the rebellious authors; Lo Duca left Cahiers a year later, while Bazin, in failing health, gave editorial control of the magazine to Rohmer and largely left Paris, though he continued to write for the magazine. Now with control over the magazine's ideological approaches to film, the younger critics (minus Godard, who had left Paris in 1952, not to return until 1956) changed the format of Cahiers somewhat, frequently conducting interviews with directors deemed "auteurs" and voting on films in a "Council" of ten core critics. These critics came to champion non-American directors as well, writing on the mise en scène (the "dominant object of study" at the magazine) of such filmmakers as Jean Renoir, Roberto Rossellini, Kenji Mizoguchi, Max Ophüls, and Jean Cocteau, many of whom Bazin had introduced them to.

By the end of the 1950s, many of the remaining editors of Cahiers, however, were becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the mere act of writing film criticism. Spurred on by the return of Godard to Paris in 1956 (who in the interim had made a short film himself), many of the younger critics became interested in making films themselves. Godard, Truffaut, Chabrol, Doniol-Valcroze, and even Rohmer, who had officially succeeded Doniol-Valcroze as head editor in 1958, began to divide their time between making films and writing about them. The films that these critics made were experimental explorations of various theoretical, artistic, and ideological aspects of the film form, and would, along with the films of young French filmmakers outside the Cahiers circle, form the basis for the cinematic movement known as the French New Wave. Meanwhile, Cahiers underwent staff changes, as Rohmer hired new editors such as Jean Douchet to fill the roles of those editors who were now making films, while other existing editors, particularly Jacques Rivette, began to write even more for the magazine. Many of the newer critical voices (except for Rivette) largely ignored the films of the New Wave for Hollywood when they were not outright criticizing them, creating friction between much of the directorial side of the younger critics and the head editor Rohmer. A group of five Cahiers editors, including Godard and Doniol-Valcroze and led by Rivette, urged Rohmer to refocus the magazine's content on newer films such as their own. When he refused, the "gang of five" forced Rohmer out and installed Rivette as his replacement in 1963.

Rivette shifted political and social concerns farther to the left, and began a trend in the magazine of paying more attention to non-Hollywood films. The style of the journal moved through literary modernism in the early 1960s to radicalism and dialectical materialism by 1970. Moreover, during the mid-1970s the magazine was run by a Maoist editorial collective. In the mid-1970s, a review of the American film Jaws marked the magazine's return to more commercial perspectives, and an editorial turnover: (Serge Daney, Serge Toubiana, Thierry Jousse, Antoine de Baecque, and Charles Tesson). It led to the rehabilitation of some of the old Cahiers favourites, as well as some new film makers like Manoel de Oliveira, Raoul Ruiz, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Youssef Chahine, and Maurice Pialat. Recent writers have included Daney, André Téchiné, Léos Carax, Olivier Assayas, Danièle Dubroux, and Serge Le Péron.

In 1998, the Editions de l'Etoile (the company publishing Cahiers) was acquired by the press group Le Monde. Traditionally losing money, the magazine attempted a make-over in 1999 to gain new readers, leading to a first split among writers and resulting in a magazine addressing all visual arts in a post-modernist approach. This version of the magazine printed ill-received opinion pieces on reality TV or video games that confused the traditional readership of the magazine.

Le Monde took full editorial control of the magazine in 2003, appointing Jean-Michel Frodon as editor-in-chief. In February 2009, Cahiers was acquired from Le Monde by Richard Schlagman, also owner of Phaidon Press, a worldwide publishing group which specialises in books on the visual arts. In July 2009, Stéphane Delorme and Jean-Philippe Tessé were promoted respectively to the positions of editor-in-chief and deputy chief editor.

In February 2020, the magazine was bought by several French entrepreneurs, including Xavier Niel and Alain Weill. The entire editorial staff resigned, saying the change posed a threat to their editorial independence.

Annual top 10 films list
The magazine has compiled a list of the top 10 films of each year for much of its existence.

title: Cahiers du Cinéma


text:
Circuit Zandvoort

Circuit Zandvoort, known for sponsorship reasons as CM.com Circuit Zandvoort, previously known as Circuit Park Zandvoort until 2017, is a 4.259 km motorsport race track located in the dunes north of Zandvoort, the Netherlands, near the North Sea coast line and 35 km west of Amsterdam. It returned to the Formula One calendar in 2021 as the location of the revived Dutch Grand Prix.

1930s to mid 1980s

There were plans for races at Zandvoort before World War II: the first street race was held on 3 June 1939. However, a permanent race track was not constructed until after the war, using communications roads built by the occupying German army. Contrary to popular belief John Hugenholtz cannot be credited with the design of the Zandvoort track, although he was involved as the chairman of the Nederlandse Automobiel Ren Club (Dutch Auto Racing Club) before becoming the first track director in 1949. Instead, it was 1927 Le Mans winner, S. C. H. "Sammy" Davis who was brought in as a track design advisor in July 1946 although the layout was partly dictated by the existing roads.

The first race on the circuit, the Prijs van Zandvoort, took place on 7 August 1948. The race was renamed the Grote Prijs van Zandvoort (Zandvoort Grand Prix) in 1949, then the Grote Prijs van Nederland (Dutch Grand Prix) in 1950. The 1952 race was the first to be run as a round of the World Championship, albeit to Formula Two regulations rather than Formula One regulations like all the European rounds of the championship that year; a similar situation also applied to the 1953. There was no Dutch Grand Prix in 1954, 1956 or 1957, but 1955 saw the first true Formula One race as part of the Drivers' Championship. The Dutch Grand Prix returned in 1958 and remained a permanent fixture on the F1 calendar (with the exception of 1972) through, when it was held for the last time in the 20th century.

Since 1985
To solve a number of problems that had made it impossible to develop and upgrade the circuit, most importantly noise pollution for Zandvoort inhabitants living closest to the track, the track management developed and adopted a plan to move the most southern part of the track away from the nearby housing estate, and rebuild a more compact track in the remaining former 'infield'. In January 1987 this plan got the necessary 'green light' when it was formally approved by the Provincial Council of North Holland. However, only a couple of months later a new problem arose: the company that commercially ran the circuit (CENAV), called in the receiver and went out of business, marking the end of 'Circuit Zandvoort'. Again the track, owned by the municipality of Zandvoort, was in danger of being permanently lost for motorsports. However, a new operating foundation, the "Stichting Exploitatie Circuit Park", was formed and started work at the realization of the track's reconstruction plans. Circuit Park Zandvoort was born and in the summer of 1989 the track was remodeled to an interim Club Circuit of 2.526 km, while the disposed southern part of the track was used to build a Vendorado Bungalow Park and new premises for the local football and field-hockey clubs.

In 1995, CPZ (Circuit Park Zandvoort) got the "A Status" of the government of the Netherlands and began building an international Grand Prix Circuit. This project was finished in 2001 when, after the track was redesigned to a 4.307 km long circuit and a new pits building was realized (by HPG, the development company of John Hugenholtz Jr., son of the former director), a new grandstand was situated along the long straight. One of the major events that is held at the circuit, along with DTM and A1GP, is the RTL Masters of Formula 3, where Formula Three cars of several national racing series compete with each other (originally called Marlboro Masters, before tobacco advertising ban). A noise restriction order was responsible for this event moving to the Belgian Circuit Zolder for 2007 and 2008. However, the race returned to its historical home in 2009.

Circuit Park Zandvoort played host to the first race in the 2006/07 season of A1 Grand Prix from 29 September–1 October 2006. On 21 August 2008, the official A1GP site reported that the 2008/09 season's first race has moved from the Mugello Circuit, Italy to Zandvoort on the 4–5 October 2008 due to the delay in the building the new chassis for the new race cars. The Dutch round moved to TT Circuit Assen in 2010. A1GP bankrupted before its fifth season and the Dutch round was replaced with Superleague Formula.

In November 2018 reported that Formula One Management (FOM) had invited the owners of the Zandvoort race track to make a proposal to stage a Grand Prix race in 2020. In March 2019, it was confirmed that a letter of intent had been signed between Zandvoort and FOM to stage the Dutch Grand Prix, dependent on private funding being secured to cover the cost of hosting the race. A deadline of 31 March 2019 was set for a final decision to be made. On 14 May 2019 it was confirmed that Zandvoort would host the Dutch Grand Prix for 2020 and beyond for a duration of at least three years, with the option to host another two years beyond that.

Several alterations were made to the track by Jarno Zaffelli to bring it up to date with F1 standards, including adding banking to turn 14 (Arie Luyendijkbocht) and turn 3 (Hugenholtzbocht), but the layout as a whole remained the same. The municipality of Zandvoort invested four million euros into the infrastructure around the circuit to improve the accessibility to the track. On 29 August 2019, the 2020 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort was included as the fifth race on the provisional schedule, listed on 3 May 2020, between the Chinese Grand Prix and Spanish Grand Prix. The 2020 scheduled appearance was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however F1 racing did finally return to the circuit on 5 September 2021. On 17 September 2019, it was announced that Zandvoort would host the FIA Formula 2 Championship and FIA Formula 3 Championship, replacing the series' support races at Circuit Paul Ricard.

The circuit

The circuit gained popularity because of its fast, sweeping corners such as Scheivlak as well as the "Tarzanbocht" (Tarzan corner) hairpin at the end of the start/finish straight. Tarzanbocht is the most famous corner in the circuit. Since there is a camber in the corner, it provides excellent overtaking opportunities. It is possible to pass around the outside as well as the easier inside lane. This corner is reportedly named after a local character who had earned the nickname of Tarzan and only wanted to give up his vegetable garden in the dunes if the track's designers named a nearby corner after him. On the other hand, many different stories about Tarzan Corner are known.

The circuit design has been modified and altered several times:
 * 1948–1971: length 4.193 km
 * 1972–1979: length 4.226 km
 * 1980–1989: length 4.252 km
 * 1990–1998: length 2.526 km
 * 1999–2019: length 4.307 km
 * 2020–present: length 4.259 km

Track configurations
The corners are named as follows (the numbers correspond to the present map, starting at the start/finish line):

 * Tarzan corner (1)
 * Gerlach corner (2)
 * Hugenholtz corner (3)
 * Hunserug (4)
 * Nameless corner (5)
 * Slotemaker corner (6)
 * Scheivlak (7)
 * Masters corner (formerly Marlboro corner) (8)
 * Nameless corner (formerly Renault corner) (9)
 * CM.com corner (formerly the Vodafone corner) (10)
 * Hans Ernst corner 1 and Hans Ernst corner 2 (formerly Audi S corners) (11 + 12)
 * Nameless corner (formerly Kumho corner) (13)
 * Arie Luyendyk corner (formerly Bos Uit corner) (14)

The elevation difference is 8.9 m.

Turns 3 and 13/14 are extremely cambered corners; turn 3 has a 19-degree bank while turns 13/14 have an 18-degree bank.

Events

 * Current

 * April: Supercar Challenge Voorjaarsraces, Fun Cup, Marcel Albers Memorial Trophy
 * May: Historic Zandvoort Trophy, Pinksterraces
 * June: Formula Regional European Championship, Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, ADAC GT Masters, Porsche Carrera Cup Germany, Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux, FIA Masters Historic Formula One Championship Zandvoort Historic Grand Prix
 * July: Eurocup-3 Zandvoort Summer Trophy, GB3 Championship, F4 British Championship, Prototype Cup Germany
 * August: Formula One Dutch Grand Prix, F1 Academy, Porsche Supercup
 * September: Supercar Challenge BetCity Trophy of the Dunes

 * Future

 * GT World Challenge Europe (2015, 2019–2023, 2025)
 * GT2 European Series (2025)
 * GT4 European Series (2011, 2013–2017, 2019–2021, 2025)

 * Former

 * 24H Series
 * 12H Zandvoort (2014–2016)
 * A1 Grand Prix (2006–2008)
 * ADAC Formel Masters (2012, 2014)
 * ADAC Formula 4 (2016, 2019, 2021–2022)
 * ADAC GT4 Germany (2019, 2021–2023)
 * ADAC TCR Germany Touring Car Championship (2016–2019)
 * Alpine Elf Europa Cup (2022)
 * ATS Formel 3 Cup (2002, 2012)
 * BMW M1 Procar Championship (1979–1980)
 * BOSS GP (2002, 2006, 2009–2014, 2017)
 * British Formula 3 International Series (1971–1973, 1984–1987, 1996)
 * British GT Championship (2013)
 * Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (1978–1979)
 * European Formula 5000 Championship (1969–1970, 1973–1975)
 * European Formula Two Championship (1967–1968, 1979–1980)
 * European Touring Car Championship (1963–1975, 1977–1979)
 * European Truck Racing Cup (1990)
 * Ferrari Challenge Europe (2000, 2002)
 * FIA European Formula 3 Championship (1976–1983)
 * FIA Formula 2 Championship (2022–2023)
 * FIA Formula 3 Championship (2021–2022)
 * FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2011–2013, 2015–2018)
 * FIA GT3 European Championship (2011)
 * Formula 3 Euro Series (2003–2012)
 * Formula BMW ADAC (2002–2007)
 * Formula BMW Europe (2009–2010)
 * Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup (2006–2013)
 * Formula Renault Eurocup (2000, 2020)
 * Formula Volkswagen Germany (2001)
 * French F4 Championship (2020)
 * French Formula Three Championship (1978)
 * International Formula 3000 (1985)
 * Interserie (1975)
 * Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe (2019, 2021)
 * RTL GP Masters of F3 (1991–2006, 2009–2016)
 * Porsche Carrera Cup France (2016, 2018, 2022)
 * Racecar Euro Series (2011)
 * SMP F4 Championship (2016)
 * Super Tourenwagen Cup (1994)
 * TCR Europe Touring Car Series (2021)
 * World Touring Car Championship
 * FIA WTCC Race of the Netherlands (2007)
 * World Touring Car Cup
 * FIA WTCR Race of the Netherlands (2018–2019)
 * W Series (2021)

Lap records
The official lap record for the current circuit layout is 1:11.097, set by Lewis Hamilton driving for Mercedes in the 2021 Dutch Grand Prix. The all-time fastest official track record set during a race weekend for the current Grand Prix Circuit layout is 1:08.885, set by Max Verstappen during qualifying for the aforementioned Grand Prix. As of June 2024, the fastest official race lap records at the Circuit Zandvoort are listed as:

Fatal accidents
In the history of the circuit, several fatal accidents have occurred.

Cycling and running competitions
Motor racer Willy Koppen was the first woman to participate in motor trials in the early fifties on the circuit. In August 1959 the UCI Road World Championships men's race was held at Zandvoort. André Darrigade of France won the 180 mi race, Tom Simpson (Britain) was 4th. In 1994 a large interregional amateur race cycling race was organised by HSV De Kampioen in Haarlem. Since 2008, the course has been used as the venue for the Runner's World Zandvoort Circuit Run, a 5-kilometre road running competition. The 2010 edition of the race attracted Lornah Kiplagat, a multiple world champion, who won the ladies 5 km race.

The Cycling Zandvoort 24h race was first held on 25–26 May 2013. It is open for public for soloists and teams up to 8 riders. A 6-hours was added to the event in 2016. On 13./14. June 2015 (12:00) the Cycling Zandvoort – 24 hour race over 4307-m-laps took place.

title: Circuit Zandvoort


text:
Crete Senesi

The Crete Senesi refers to an area of the Italian region of Tuscany immediately to the south of Siena. It consists of a range of hills and woods among villages and includes the comuni of Asciano, Buonconvento, Monteroni d'Arbia, Rapolano Terme and San Giovanni d'Asso, all within the province of Siena. They border to the north with the Chianti Senese area, to the east with Val di Chiana and to the south-west with Val d'Orcia. Nearby is also the semi-arid area known as the Accona Desert.

Crete Senesi are literally the "clays of Siena": the distinctive grey colouration of the soil gives the landscape an appearance often described as lunar. This characteristic clay, known as mattaione, represents the sediments of the Pliocene sea which covered the area between 2.5 and 4.5 million years ago. The landscape is characterized by barren and gently undulating hills, solitary oaks and cypresses, isolated farms at the top of the heights, stretches of wood and ponds of rainwater (commonly referred as fontoni, literally "big springs") in the valleys. Badlands and are typical conformations of the land. Perhaps the most notable edifice of this area is the Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore, located 10 km south of Asciano.

The region is known for its production of white truffles, and hosts a festival and a museum dedicated to the rare fungus (genus Tuber).

title: Crete Senesi


text:
Christmas tree

A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas.

The custom was developed in Central Europe, particularly Germany and Livonia (now Estonia and Latvia), where Protestant Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. The tree was traditionally decorated with "roses made of colored paper, apples, wafers, tinsel, [and] sweetmeats". Moravian Christians began to illuminate Christmas trees with candles, which were often replaced by Christmas lights after the advent of electrification. Today, there is a wide variety of traditional and modern ornaments, such as garlands, baubles, tinsel, and candy canes. An angel or star might be placed at the top of the tree to represent the Angel Gabriel or the Star of Bethlehem, respectively, from the Nativity. Edible items such as gingerbread, chocolate, and other sweets are also popular and are tied to or hung from the tree's branches with ribbons. The Christmas tree has been historically regarded as a custom of the Lutheran Churches and only in 1982 did the Catholic Church erect the Vatican Christmas Tree.

In the Western Christian tradition, Christmas trees are variously erected on days such as the first day of Advent, or even as late as Christmas Eve, depending on the country; customs of the same faith hold that it is unlucky to remove Christmas decorations, such as the Christmas tree, before Twelfth Night and, if they are not taken down on that day, it is appropriate to do so on Candlemas, the latter of which ends the Christmas-Epiphany season in some denominations.

The Christmas tree is sometimes compared with the "Yule-tree", especially in discussions of its folkloric origins.

Origin of the modern Christmas tree

Modern Christmas trees originated in Central Europe and the Baltic states, particularly Estonia, Germany and Livonia (now Latvia) during the Renaissance in early modern Europe. Its 16th-century origins are sometimes associated with Protestant Christian reformer Martin Luther, who is said to have first added lighted candles to an evergreen tree. The Christmas tree was first recorded to be used by German Lutherans in the 16th century, with records indicating that a Christmas tree was placed in the Cathedral of Strasbourg in 1539, under the leadership of the Protestant Reformer Martin Bucer. The Moravian Christians put lighted candles on those trees." The earliest known firmly dated representation of a Christmas tree is on the keystone sculpture of a private home in Turckheim, Alsace (then part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, today part of France), with the date 1576.

Possible predecessors
Modern Christmas trees have been related to the "tree of paradise" of medieval mystery plays that were given on 24 December, the commemoration and name day of Adam and Eve in various countries. In such plays, a tree decorated with apples (representing fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and thus to the original sin that Christ took away) and round white wafers (to represent the Eucharist and redemption) was used as a setting for the play. Like the Christmas crib, the Paradise tree was later placed in homes. The apples were replaced by round objects such as shiny red baubles.

Fir trees decorated with apples served as the central prop for the paradise play, a kind of folk religious drama often performed on December 24. These props were called paradise trees, and some researchers believe they were the forerunners of the Christmas tree.

At the end of the Middle Ages, an early predecessor appears referred in the 15th century Regiment of the Cistercian Alcobaça Monastery in Portugal. The Regiment of the local high-Sacristans of the Cistercian Order refers to what may be considered the oldest references to the Christmas tree: "Note on how to put the Christmas branch, scilicet: On the Christmas eve, you will look for a large Branch of green laurel, and you shall reap many red oranges, and place them on the branches that come of the laurel, specifically as you have seen, and in every orange you shall put a candle, and hang the Branch by a rope in the pole, which shall be by the candle of the high altar."

Other sources have offered a connection between the symbolism of the first documented Christmas trees in Germany around 1600 and the trees of pre-Christian traditions, though this claim has been disputed. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, "The use of evergreen trees, wreaths, and garlands to symbolize eternal life was a custom of the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and Hebrews. Tree worship was common among the pagan Europeans and survived their conversion to Christianity in the Scandinavian customs of decorating the house and barn with evergreens at the New Year to scare away the devil and of setting up a tree for the birds during Christmas time."

It is commonly believed that ancient Romans used to decorate their houses with evergreen trees to celebrate Saturnalia, although there are no historical records of that. In the poem Epithalamium by Catullus, he tells of the gods decorating the home of Peleus with trees, including laurel and cypress. Later Libanius, Tertullian, and Chrysostom speak of the use of evergreen trees to adorn Christian houses.

The Vikings and Saxons worshiped trees. The story of Saint Boniface cutting down Donar's Oak illustrates the pagan practices in 8th century among the Germans. A later folk version of the story adds the detail that an evergreen tree grew in place of the felled oak, telling them about how its triangular shape reminds humanity of the Trinity and how it points to heaven.

Estonia, Latvia, and Germany
Customs of erecting decorated trees in winter time can be traced to Christmas celebrations in Renaissance-era guilds in Northern Germany and Livonia. The first evidence of decorated trees associated with Christmas Day are trees in guildhalls decorated with sweets to be enjoyed by the apprentices and children. In Livonia (present-day Estonia and Latvia), in 1441, 1442, 1510, and 1514, the Brotherhood of Blackheads erected a tree for the holidays in their guild houses in Reval (now Tallinn) and Riga. On the last night of the celebrations leading up to the holidays, the tree was taken to the Town Hall Square, where the members of the brotherhood danced around it.

A Bremen guild chronicle of 1570 reports that a small tree decorated with "apples, nuts, dates, pretzels, and paper flowers" was erected in the guild-house for the benefit of the guild members' children, who collected the dainties on Christmas Day. In 1584, the pastor and chronicler Balthasar Russow in his Chronica der Provinz Lyfflandt (1584) wrote of an established tradition of setting up a decorated spruce at the market square, where the young men "went with a flock of maidens and women, first sang and danced there and then set the tree aflame".

After the Protestant Reformation, such trees are seen in the houses of upper-class Protestant families as a counterpart to the Catholic Christmas cribs. This transition from the guild hall to bourgeois family homes in the Protestant parts of Germany ultimately gives rise to the modern tradition as it developed in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the present-day, the churches and homes of Protestants and Catholics feature both Christmas cribs and Christmas trees.

Poland
In Poland, there is a folk tradition dating back to an old Slavic pre-Christian custom of suspending a branch of fir, spruce, or pine from the ceiling rafters, called podłaźniczka, during the time of the Koliada winter festival. The branches were decorated with apples, nuts, acorns, and stars made of straw. In more recent times, the decorations also included colored paper cutouts (wycinanki), wafers, cookies, and Christmas baubles. According to old pagan beliefs, the branch's powers were linked to good harvest and prosperity.

The custom was practiced by the peasants until the early 20th century, particularly in the regions of Lesser Poland and Upper Silesia. Most often the branches were hung above the wigilia dinner table on Christmas Eve. Beginning in the mid-19th century, the tradition over time was almost completely replaced by the later German practice of decorating a standing Christmas tree.

Adoption by European nobility

In the early 19th century, the custom became popular among the nobility and spread to royal courts as far as Russia. Introduced by Fanny von Arnstein and popularized by Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg, the Christmas tree reached Vienna in 1814, during the Congress of Vienna, and the custom spread across Austria in the following years. In France, the first Christmas tree was introduced in 1840 by the duchesse d'Orléans. In Denmark, a newspaper company claims that the first attested Christmas tree was lit in 1808 by Countess Wilhemine of Holsteinborg. It was the aging countess who told the story of the first Danish Christmas tree to Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen in 1865. He had published a fairy tale called The Fir-Tree in 1844, recounting the fate of a fir tree being used as a Christmas tree.

Germany

By the early 18th century, the custom had become common in towns of the upper Rhineland, but it had not yet spread to rural areas. Wax candles, expensive items at the time, are found in attestations from the late 18th century.

Along the Lower Rhine, an area of Roman Catholic majority, the Christmas tree was largely regarded as a Protestant custom. As a result, it remained confined to the upper Rhineland for a relatively long period of time. The custom did eventually gain wider acceptance beginning around 1815 by way of Prussian officials who emigrated there following the Congress of Vienna.

In the 19th century, the Christmas tree was taken to be an expression of German culture and of Gemütlichkeit, especially among emigrants overseas.

A decisive factor in winning general popularity was the German army's decision to place Christmas trees in its barracks and military hospitals during the Franco-Prussian War. Only at the start of the 20th century did Christmas trees appear inside churches, this time in a new brightly lit form.

Slovenia
Early Slovenian custom, dating back to around the 17th century, was to suspend the tree either upright or upside-down above the well, a corner of the dinner table, in the backyard, or from the fences, modestly decorated with fruits or not decorated at all. German brewer Peter Luelsdorf brought the first Christmas tree of the current tradition to Slovenia in 1845. He set it up in his small brewery inn in Ljubljana, the Slovenian capital. German officials, craftsmen and merchants quickly spread the tradition among the bourgeois population. The trees were typically decorated with walnuts, golden apples, carobs, and candles. At first, the Catholic majority rejected this custom because they considered it a typical Protestant tradition. However, this tradition was almost unknown to the rural population until World War I, after which the decorating of trees became common. The first decorated Christmas market was organized in Ljubljana in 1859.

After World War II, during the Yugoslavia period, spruce trees set in the public places (towns, squares, and markets) were, for political reasons, replaced with fir trees, a symbol of socialism and Slavic mythology, strongly associated with loyalty, courage, and dignity. However, spruce retained its popularity in Slovenian homes during those years and came back to public places after independence.

Britain

Although the tradition of decorating churches and homes with evergreens at Christmas was long established, the custom of decorating an entire small tree was unknown in Britain until the 19th century. The German-born Queen Charlotte introduced a Christmas tree at a party she gave for children in 1800. The custom did not at first spread much beyond the royal family. Queen Victoria, as a child, was familiar with it and a tree was placed in her room every Christmas. In her journal for Christmas Eve 1832, the delighted 13-year-old princess wrote:

"After dinner[...] we then went into the drawing room near the dining room[...] There were two large round tables on which were placed two trees hung with lights and sugar ornaments. All the presents being placed round the trees[...]"

In the year following Victoria's marriage to her German cousin Prince Albert, in 1841, the custom became even more widespread as wealthier middle-class families followed the fashion. In 1842, a newspaper advertisement for Christmas trees makes clear their smart cachet, German origins and association with children and gift-giving. An illustrated book, The Christmas Tree, describing their use and origins in detail, was on sale in December 1844.

On 2January 1846, Elizabeth Fielding (née Fox Strangways) wrote from Lacock Abbey to William Henry Fox-Talbot: "Constance is extremely busy preparing the Bohemian Xmas Tree. It is made from Caroline's description of those she saw in Germany".

In 1847, Prince Albert wrote: "I must now seek in the children an echo of what Ernest [his brother] and I were in the old time, of what we felt and thought; and their delight in the Christmas trees is not less than ours used to be".

A boost to the trend was given in 1848 when The Illustrated London News, in a report picked up by other papers, described the trees in Windsor Castle in detail and showed the main tree, surrounded by the royal family, on its cover. In fewer than ten years, the adoption of the tradition in middle and upper class homes was widespread. By 1856, a northern provincial newspaper contained an advert alluding casually to them, as well as reporting the accidental death of a woman whose dress caught fire as she lit the tapers on a Christmas tree. They had not yet spread down the social scale though, as a report from Berlin in 1858 contrasts the situation there where "Every family has its own" with that of Britain, where Christmas trees were still the preserve of the wealthy or the "romantic".

Their use at public entertainments, charity bazaars and in hospitals made them increasingly familiar however, and in 1906 a charity was set up specifically to ensure even poor children in London slums "who had never seen a Christmas tree" would enjoy one that year. Anti-German sentiment after World WarI briefly reduced their popularity but the effect was short-lived, and by the mid-1920s the use of Christmas trees had spread to all classes. In 1933, a restriction on the importation of foreign trees led to the "rapid growth of a new industry" as the growing of Christmas trees within Britain became commercially viable due to the size of demand. By 2013, the number of trees grown in Britain for the Christmas market was approximately eight million and their display in homes, shops and public spaces a normal part of the Christmas season.

Georgia

Georgians have their own traditional Christmas tree called Chichilaki, made from dried up hazelnut or walnut branches that are shaped to form a small coniferous tree. These pale-colored ornaments differ in height from 20 cm to 3 m. Chichilakis are most common in the Guria and Samegrelo regions of Georgia near the Black Sea, but they can also be found in some stores around the capital of Tbilisi.

Georgians believe that Chichilaki resembles the famous beard of St. Basil the Great, because Eastern Orthodox Church commemorates St. Basil on 1 January.

The Bahamas
The earliest reference of Christmas trees being used in The Bahamas dates to January 1864 and is associated with the Anglican Sunday Schools in Nassau, New Providence: "After prayers and a sermon from the Rev. R. Swann, the teachers and children of St. Agnes', accompanied by those of St. Mary's, marched to the Parsonage of Rev. J. H. Fisher, in front of which a large Christmas tree had been planted for their gratification. The delighted little ones formed a circle around it singing 'Come follow me to the Christmas tree.'" The gifts decorated the trees as ornaments and the children were given tickets with numbers that matched the gifts. This appears to be the typical way of decorating the trees in 1860s Bahamas. In the Christmas of 1864, there was a Christmas tree put up in the Ladies Saloon in the Royal Victoria Hotel for the respectable children of the neighbourhood. The tree was ornamented with gifts for the children who formed a circle about it and sung the song "Oats and Beans". The gifts were later given to the children in the name of Santa Claus.

North America
The tradition was introduced to North America in the winter of 1781 by Hessian soldiers stationed in the Province of Québec (1763–1791) to garrison the colony against American attack. General Friedrich Adolf Riedesel and his wife, the Baroness von Riedesel, held a Christmas party for the officers at Sorel, Quebec, delighting their guests with a fir tree decorated with candles and fruits.

The Christmas tree became very common in the United States of America in the early 19th century. Dating from late 1812 or early 1813, the watercolor sketchbooks of John Lewis Krimmel contain perhaps the earliest depictions of a Christmas tree in American art, representing a family celebrating Christmas Eve in the Moravian tradition. The first published image of a Christmas tree appeared in 1836 as the frontispiece to The Stranger's Gift by Hermann Bokum. The first mention of the Christmas tree in American literature was in a story in the 1836 edition of The Token and Atlantic Souvenir, titled "New Year's Day", by Catherine Maria Sedgwick, where she tells the story of a German maid decorating her mistress' tree. Also, a woodcut of the British royal family with their Christmas tree at Windsor Castle, initially published in The Illustrated London News in December 1848, was copied in the United States at Christmas 1850, in Godey's Lady's Book. Godey's copied it exactly, except for the removal of the Queen's tiara and Prince Albert's moustache, to remake the engraving into an American scene. The republished Godey's image became the first widely circulated picture of a decorated evergreen Christmas tree in America. Art historian Karal Ann Marling called Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, shorn of their royal trappings, "the first influential American Christmas tree". Folk-culture historian Alfred Lewis Shoemaker states, "In all of America there was no more important medium in spreading the Christmas tree in the decade 1850–60 than Godey's Lady's Book". The image was reprinted in 1860, and by the 1870s, putting up a Christmas tree had become even more common in America.

President Benjamin Harrison and his wife Caroline put up the first White House Christmas tree in 1889.

Several cities in the United States with German connections lay claim to that country's first Christmas tree. Windsor Locks, Connecticut, claims that a Hessian soldier put up a Christmas tree in 1777 while imprisoned at the Noden-Reed House, while the "First Christmas Tree in America" is also claimed by Easton, Pennsylvania, where German settlers purportedly erected a Christmas tree in 1816. In his diary, Matthew Zahm of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, recorded the use of a Christmas tree in 1821, leading Lancaster to also lay claim to the first Christmas tree in America. Other accounts credit Charles Follen, a German immigrant to Boston, for being the first to introduce to America the custom of decorating a Christmas tree. In 1847, August Imgard, a German immigrant living in Wooster, Ohio cut a blue spruce tree from a woods outside town, had the Wooster village tinsmith construct a star, and placed the tree in his house, decorating it with paper ornaments, gilded nuts and Kuchen. German immigrant Charles Minnigerode accepted a position as a professor of humanities at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1842, where he taught Latin and Greek. Entering into the social life of the Virginia Tidewater, Minnigerode introduced the German custom of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas at the home of law professor St. George Tucker, thereby becoming another of many influences that prompted Americans to adopt the practice at about that time. An 1853 article on Christmas customs in Pennsylvania defines them as mostly "German in origin", including the Christmas tree, which is "planted in a flower pot filled with earth, and its branches are covered with presents, chiefly of confectionary, for the younger members of the family." The article distinguishes between customs in different states, however, claiming that in New England generally "Christmas is not much celebrated", whereas in Pennsylvania and New York it is.

When Edward H. Johnson was vice president of the Edison Electric Light Company, a predecessor of Con Edison, he created the first known electrically illuminated Christmas tree at his home in New York City in 1882. Johnson became the "Father of Electric Christmas Tree Lights".

The lyrics sung in the United States to the German tune O Tannenbaum begin "O Christmas tree...", giving rise to the mistaken idea that the German word Tannenbaum (fir tree) means "Christmas tree", the German word for which is instead Weihnachtsbaum.

1935 to present
Under the state atheism of the Soviet Union, the Christmas tree—along with the entire celebration of the Christian holiday—was banned in the country after the October Revolution. However, the government then introduced a New-year spruce (Новогодняя ёлка) in 1935 for the New Year holiday. It became a fully secular icon of the New Year holiday: for example, the crowning star was regarded not as a symbol of the Bethlehem Star, but as the Red star. Decorations, such as figurines of airplanes, bicycles, space rockets, cosmonauts, and characters of Russian fairy tales, were produced. This tradition persists after the fall of the USSR, with the New Year holiday outweighing the Christmas (7 January) for a wide majority of Russian people.

The Peanuts TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) was influential on the pop culture surrounding the Christmas tree. Aluminum Christmas trees were popular during the early 1960s in the US. They were satirized in the TV special and came to be seen as symbolizing the commercialization of Christmas. The term "Charlie Brown Christmas tree," describing any poor-looking or malformed little tree, also derives from the 1965 TV special, based on the appearance of Charlie Brown's Christmas tree.

Public Christmas trees

Since the early 20th century, it has become common in many cities, towns, and department stores to put up public Christmas trees outdoors, such as the Macy's Great Tree in Atlanta (since 1948), the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in New York City, and the large Christmas tree at Victoria Square in Adelaide.

The use of fire retardant allows many indoor public areas to place real trees and be compliant with code. Licensed applicants of fire retardant solution spray the tree, tag the tree, and provide a certificate for inspection.

The United States' National Christmas Tree has been lit each year since 1923 on the South Lawn of the White House, becoming part of what evolved into a major holiday event at the White House. President Jimmy Carter lit only the crowning star atop the tree in 1979 in honor of the Americans being held hostage in Iran. This was repeated in 1980, except the tree was fully lit for 417 seconds, one second for each day the hostages had been in captivity.

During most of the 1970s and 1980s, the largest decorated Christmas tree in the world was put up every year on the property of the National Enquirer in Lantana, Florida. This tradition grew into one of the most spectacular and celebrated events in the history of southern Florida, but was discontinued on the death of the paper's founder in the late 1980s.

In some cities, a charity event called the Festival of Trees is organized, in which multiple trees are decorated and displayed.

The giving of Christmas trees has also often been associated with the end of hostilities. After the signing of the Armistice in 1918, the city of Manchester, England, sent a tree, and £500 to buy chocolate and cakes, for the children of the much-bombarded town of Lille in northern France.

In some cases, the trees represent special commemorative gifts, such as in Trafalgar Square in London, where the City of Oslo, Norway, presents a tree to the people of London as a token of appreciation for the British support of Norwegian resistance during World War II; in Boston, United States, where the tree is a gift from the province of Nova Scotia, in thanks for rapid deployment of supplies and rescuers to the 1917 ammunition ship explosion that leveled the city of Halifax; and in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, where the main civic Christmas tree is an annual gift from the city of Bergen, Norway, in thanks for the part played by soldiers from Newcastle in liberating Bergen from Nazi occupation. Norway also annually gifts a Christmas tree to Washington, D.C., as a symbol of friendship between Norway and the US and as an expression of gratitude from Norway for the help received from the US during World War II.

Setting up and taking down
Both setting up and taking down a Christmas tree are associated with specific dates; liturgically, this is done through the hanging of the greens ceremony. In many areas, it has become customary to set up one's Christmas tree on Advent Sunday, the first day of the Advent season. Traditionally, however, Christmas trees were not brought in and decorated until the evening of Christmas Eve (24 December), the end of the Advent season and the start of the twelve days of Christmastide. It is customary for Christians in many localities to remove their Christmas decorations on the last day of the twelve days of Christmastide that falls on 5 January—Epiphany Eve (Twelfth Night), although those in other Christian countries remove them on Candlemas, the conclusion of the extended Christmas-Epiphany season (Epiphanytide). According to the first tradition, those who fail to remember to remove their Christmas decorations on Epiphany Eve must leave them untouched until Candlemas, the second opportunity to remove them; failure to observe this custom is considered inauspicious.

Decorations

Christmas ornaments are decorations (usually made of glass, metal, wood, or ceramics) that are used to decorate a Christmas tree. The first decorated trees were adorned with apples, white candy canes and pastries in the shapes of stars, hearts and flowers. Glass baubles were first made in Lauscha, Germany in 1847, and also garlands of glass beads and tin figures that could be hung on trees. The popularity of these decorations fueled the production of glass figures made by highly skilled artisans with clay molds.

Tinsel and several types of garland or ribbon are commonly used as Christmas tree decorations. Silvered saran-based tinsel was introduced later. Delicate mold-blown and painted colored glass Christmas ornaments were a specialty of the glass factories in the Thuringian Forest, especially in Lauscha in the late 19th century, and have since become a large industry, complete with famous-name designers. Baubles are another common decoration, consisting of small hollow glass or plastic spheres coated with a thin metallic layer to make them reflective, with a further coating of a thin pigmented polymer in order to provide coloration.

Lighting with electric lights (Christmas lights or, in the United Kingdom, fairy lights) is commonly done. A tree-topper, typically an angel or star, completes the decoration.

In the late 1800s, home-made white Christmas trees were made by wrapping strips of cotton batting around leafless branches creating the appearance of a snow-laden tree.

In the 1940s and 1950s, popularized by Hollywood films in the late 1930s, flocking was very popular on the West Coast of the United States. There were home flocking kits that could be used with vacuum cleaners. In the 1980s, some trees were sprayed with fluffy white flocking to simulate snow.

Symbolism and interpretations
The earliest legend of the origin of a fir tree becoming a Christian symbol dates back to 723 AD, involving Saint Boniface as he was evangelizing Germany. It is said that at a pagan gathering in Geismar, where a group of people dancing under a decorated oak tree were about to sacrifice a baby in the name of Thor, Saint Boniface took an axe and called on the name of Jesus. In one swipe, he managed to take down the entire oak tree, to the crowd's astonishment. Behind the fallen tree was a baby fir tree. Boniface said, "let this tree be the symbol of the true God, its leaves are ever green and will not die." The tree's needles pointed heavenward and it was shaped triangularly, representing the Holy Trinity.

When decorating the Christmas tree, many individuals place a star at the top of the tree, symbolizing the Star of Bethlehem. It became popular for people to also use an angel to top the Christmas tree in order to symbolize the angels mentioned in the accounts of the Nativity of Jesus. Additionally, in the context of a Christian celebration of Christmas, the evergreen Christmas tree symbolizes eternal life; the candles or lights on the tree represent Christ as the light of the world.

Production

Each year, 33 to 36 million Christmas trees are produced in America, and 50 to 60 million are produced in Europe. In 1998, there were about 15,000 growers in America (a third of them "choose and cut" farms). In that same year, it was estimated that Americans spent $1.5billion on Christmas trees. By 2016, that had climbed to $2.04billion for natural trees and a further $1.86billion for artificial trees. In Europe, 75 million trees worth €2.4billion ($3.2 billion) are harvested annually.

Natural trees
The most commonly used species are fir (Abies), which have the benefit of not shedding their needles when they dry out, as well as retaining good foliage color and scent; but species in other genera are also used.

In northern Europe most commonly used are:
 * Norway spruce Picea abies (the original tree, generally the cheapest)
 * Silver fir Abies alba
 * Nordmann fir Abies nordmanniana
 * Noble fir Abies procera
 * Serbian spruce Picea omorika
 * Scots pine Pinus sylvestris
 * Stone pine Pinus pinea (as small table-top trees)
 * Swiss pine Pinus cembra

In North America, Central America, South America and Australia most commonly used are:
 * Douglas fir Pseudotsuga menziesii
 * Balsam fir Abies balsamea
 * Fraser Fir Abies fraseri
 * Grand fir Abies grandis
 * Guatemalan fir Abies guatemalensis
 * Noble fir Abies procera
 * Nordmann fir Abies nordmanniana
 * Red fir Abies magnifica
 * White fir Abies concolor
 * Pinyon pine Pinus edulis
 * Jeffrey pine Pinus jeffreyi
 * Scots pine Pinus sylvestris
 * Stone pine Pinus pinea (as small table-top trees)
 * Norfolk Island pine Araucaria heterophylla
 * Paraná pine Araucaria angustifolia (when young, resembles a Pine tree)

Several other species are used to a lesser extent. Less-traditional conifers are sometimes used, such as giant sequoia, Leyland cypress, Monterey cypress, and eastern juniper. Various types of spruce tree are also used for Christmas trees (including the blue spruce and, less commonly, the white spruce); but spruces begin to lose their needles rapidly upon being cut, and spruce needles are often sharp, making decorating uncomfortable. Virginia pine is still available on some tree farms in the southeastern United States; however, its winter color is faded. The long-needled eastern white pine is also used there, though it is an unpopular Christmas tree in most parts of the country, owing also to its faded winter coloration and limp branches, making decorating difficult with all but the lightest ornaments. Norfolk Island pine is sometimes used, particularly in Oceania, and in Australia, some species of the genera Casuarina and Allocasuarina are also occasionally used as Christmas trees. But, by far, the most common tree is the Pinus radiata Monterey pine. Adenanthos sericeus or Albany woolly bush is commonly sold in southern Australia as a potted living Christmas tree. Hemlock species are generally considered unsuitable as Christmas trees due to their poor needle retention and inability to support the weight of lights and ornaments.

Some trees, frequently referred to as "living Christmas trees", are sold live with roots and soil, often from a plant nursery, to be stored at nurseries in planters or planted later outdoors and enjoyed (and often decorated) for years or decades. Others are produced in a container and sometimes as topiary for a porch or patio. However, when done improperly, the combination of root loss caused by digging, and the indoor environment of high temperature and low humidity is very detrimental to the tree's health; additionally, the warmth of an indoor climate will bring the tree out of its natural winter dormancy, leaving it little protection when put back outside into a cold outdoor climate. Often Christmas trees are a large attraction for living animals, including mice and spiders. Thus, the survival rate of these trees is low. However, when done properly, replanting provides higher survival rates.

European tradition prefers the open aspect of naturally grown, unsheared trees, while in North America (outside western areas where trees are often wild-harvested on public lands) there is a preference for close-sheared trees with denser foliage, but less space to hang decorations.

In the past, Christmas trees were often harvested from wild forests, but now almost all are commercially grown on tree farms. Almost all Christmas trees in the United States are grown on Christmas tree farms where they are cut after about ten years of growth and new trees planted. According to the United States Department of Agriculture's agriculture census for 2007, 21,537 farms were producing conifers for the cut Christmas tree market in America, 5717.09 km2 were planted in Christmas trees.

The life cycle of a Christmas tree from the seed to a 2 m tree takes, depending on species and treatment in cultivation, between eight and twelve years. First, the seed is extracted from cones harvested from older trees. These seeds are then usually grown in nurseries and then sold to Christmas tree farms at an age of three to four years. The remaining development of the tree greatly depends on the climate, soil quality, as well as the cultivation and how the trees are tended by the Christmas tree farmer. One issue that farmers face is the destruction of pine trees by pests, such as T. piniperda.

Artificial trees

The first artificial Christmas trees were developed in Germany during the 19th century,  though earlier examples exist. These "trees" were made using goose feathers that were dyed green, as one response by Germans to continued deforestation. Feather Christmas trees ranged widely in size, from a small 2 in tree to a large 98 in tree sold in department stores during the 1920s. Often, the tree branches were tipped with artificial red berries which acted as candle holders.

Over the years, other styles of artificial Christmas trees have evolved and become popular. In 1930, the U.S.-based Addis Brush Company created the first artificial Christmas tree made from brush bristles. Another type of artificial tree is the aluminum Christmas tree, first manufactured in Chicago in 1958, and later in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, where the majority of the trees were produced. Most modern artificial Christmas trees are made from plastic recycled from used packaging materials, such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Approximately 10% of artificial Christmas trees are using virgin suspension PVC resin; despite being plastic most artificial trees are not recyclable or biodegradable.

Trends developed in the early 2000s included optical fiber Christmas trees, which come in two major varieties; one resembling a traditional Christmas tree. One Dallas-based company offers "holographic mylar" trees in many hues. Tree-shaped objects made from such materials as cardboard, glass, ceramic or other materials can be found in use as tabletop decorations. Upside-down artificial Christmas trees became popular for a short time and were originally introduced as a marketing gimmick; they allowed consumers to get closer to ornaments for sale in retail stores and opened up floor space for more products.

Artificial trees became increasingly popular during the late 20th century. Users of artificial Christmas trees assert that they are more convenient, and, because they are reusable, much cheaper than their natural alternative. They are also considered much safer, as natural trees can be a significant fire hazard. Between 2001 and 2007, artificial Christmas tree sales in the U.S. jumped from 7.3 million to 17.4 million. Currently, it is estimated that around 58% of Christmas trees used in the United States are artificial, while numbers in the United Kingdom are indicated to be around 66%.

Environmental issues
The debate about the environmental impact of artificial trees is ongoing. Generally, natural tree growers contend that artificial trees are more environmentally harmful than their natural counterparts. However, trade groups such as the American Christmas Tree Association, claim that the PVC used in Christmas trees is chemically and mechanically stable, does not affect human health, and has excellent recyclable properties. Live trees are typically grown as a crop and replanted in rotation after cutting, often providing suitable habitat for wildlife. Alternately, live trees can be donated to livestock farmers who find that such trees uncontaminated by chemical additives are excellent fodder. In some cases, management of Christmas tree crops can result in poor habitat since it sometimes involves heavy input of pesticides.

Concerns have been raised by arborists about people cutting down old and rare conifers, such as the Keteleeria evelyniana for Christmas trees.

Real or cut trees are used only for a short time, but can be recycled and used as mulch, wildlife habitat, or used to prevent erosion. Real trees are carbon-neutral, they emit no more carbon dioxide by being cut down and disposed of than they absorb while growing. However, emissions can occur from farming activities and transportation. An independent life-cycle assessment study, conducted by a firm of experts in sustainable development, states that a natural tree will generate 3.1 kg of greenhouse gases every year (based on purchasing 5 km from home) whereas the artificial tree will produce 48.3 kg over its lifetime. Some people use living Christmas or potted trees for several seasons, providing a longer life cycle for each tree. Living Christmas trees can be purchased or rented from local market growers. Rentals are picked up after the holidays, while purchased trees can be planted by the owner after use or donated to local tree adoption or urban reforestation services. Smaller and younger trees may be replanted after each season, with the following year running up to the next Christmas allowing the tree to carry out further growth.

The use of lead stabilizer in Chinese imported trees has been an issue of concern among politicians and scientists over recent years. A 2004 study found that while in general artificial trees pose little health risk from lead contamination, there do exist "worst-case scenarios" where major health risks to young children exist. A 2008 United States Environmental Protection Agency report found that as the PVC in artificial Christmas trees aged it began to degrade. The report determined that of the fifty million artificial trees in the United States approximately twenty million were nine or more years old, the point where dangerous lead contamination levels are reached. A professional study on the life-cycle assessment of both real and artificial Christmas trees revealed that one must use an artificial Christmas tree at least twenty years to leave an environmental footprint as small as the natural Christmas tree.

Religious issues
Under the Marxist-Leninist doctrine of state atheism in the Soviet Union, after its foundation in 1917, Christmas celebrations—along with other religious holidays—were prohibited as a result of the Soviet anti-religious campaign. The League of Militant Atheists encouraged school pupils to campaign against Christmas traditions, among them being the Christmas tree, as well as other Christian holidays, including Easter; the League established an anti-religious holiday to be the 31st of each month as a replacement. With the Christmas tree being prohibited in accordance with Soviet anti-religious legislation, people supplanted the former Christmas custom with New Year's trees. In 1935, the tree was brought back as New Year tree and became a secular, not a religious holiday.

Pope John Paul II introduced the Christmas tree custom to the Vatican in 1982. Although at first disapproved of by some as out of place at the centre of the Roman Catholic Church, the Vatican Christmas Tree has become an integral part of the Vatican Christmas celebrations, and in 2005 Pope Benedict XVI spoke of it as part of the normal Christmas decorations in Catholic homes. In 2004, Pope John Paul called the Christmas tree a symbol of Christ. This very ancient custom, he said, exalts the value of life, as in winter what is evergreen becomes a sign of undying life, and it reminds Christians of the "tree of life", an image of Christ, the supreme gift of God to humanity. In the previous year he said: "Beside the crib, the Christmas tree, with its twinkling lights, reminds us that with the birth of Jesus the tree of life has blossomed anew in the desert of humanity. The crib and the tree: precious symbols, which hand down in time the true meaning of Christmas." The Catholic Church's official Book of Blessings has a service for the blessing of the Christmas tree in a home. The Episcopal Church in The Anglican Family Prayer Book, which has the imprimatur of The Rt. Rev. Catherine S. Roskam of the Anglican Communion, has long had a ritual titled Blessing of a Christmas Tree, as well as Blessing of a Crèche, for use in the church and the home; family services and public liturgies for the blessing of Christmas trees are common in other Christian denominations as well.

Chrismon trees, which find their origin in the Lutheran Christian tradition though now used in many Christian denominations such as the Catholic Church and Methodist Church, are used to decorate churches during the liturgical season of Advent; during the period of Christmastide, Christian churches display the traditional Christmas tree in their sanctuaries.

In 2005, the city of Boston renamed the spruce tree used to decorate the Boston Common a "Holiday Tree" rather than a "Christmas Tree". The name change was reversed after the city was threatened with several lawsuits.

title: Christmas tree