TR Vs. Christmas Trees

Mental Floss Presents: The Quest for the North Pole

Theodore Roosevelt loved Christmas, but the Roosevelt family never had a Christmas tree. If you believe the stories, it's because TR, an avid conservationist, had banned them—and that ban is supposedly what led his son, Archie, to sneak a tree into the White House, a stunt that reportedly earned him a stern lecture.

That's what the stories say, but what actually happened? In this episode, we'll reveal the fact, and fiction, behind this pervasive Theodore Roosevelt Christmas tale.

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