Homes are coming alive with festive decorations for the holidays -- Christmas trees with sparkling ornaments, twinkling lights and an electric train circling around the base.
The tradition of incorporating a train set into the holiday decor has become a staple in many households, but what sparked the beginning of this custom?
While the exact origins of placing trains under Christmas trees isn't known, their popularity can be traced back to the early 1900s, when the Lionel Corporation, a prominent American toy manufacturer, first began making toy trains.
Trains quickly became sought after Christmas gifts. Children especially had a reason to love trains, according to Tony Cook, editor of Model Railroad News.
"Trains brought everything from visiting relatives to all the goods in town," Cook told USA Today. "The train under the tree maybe signals the path by which the Christmas gifts arrived."
Recognizing their appeal to children, Lionel began marketing its electric toy trains as the perfect holiday gifts.
As the years passed, trains became more than just toys at Christmastime and transformed into part of the decorations. Many have linked the tradition to a variation of a custom that started in the early 18th century, when Protestants immigrating to America would set up miniature Nativity scenes beneath their trees as part of their holiday celebrations.
Whether fueled by nostalgia or just wanting to feel the magic of the season, assembling a train set around the Christmas tree became a staple in some households over the years, next to hanging stockings by the fireplace and leaving cookies and milk out for Santa Claus.
And more than 100 years later, the feeling hasn't gone out of style.
"There's still something magical about a toy train under a Christmas tree," Rene Schweitzer, editor of Classic Toy Trains, told USA Today. "The movement, smoke, and sound bring back memories for the older folks, and create new ones for the youngsters."
Though interest in model trains has fluctuated over the years, Christmas has a way of reigniting the passion for many.