The president who banned Christmas trees was Thomas Jefferson. He was a strict deist who believed in separating church and state, and he felt that the celebration of Christmas, including the use of Christmas trees, was a religious practice and thus incompatible with the ideals of the United States. He issued a proclamation in 1802 banning the use of Christmas trees and any other religious symbols during the Christmas season. However, this ban was not widely enforced and Christmas trees continued to be used in many homes throughout the country.