Christmas Tree History

Here are some historic points in the story of the Christmas Tree tradition through history:

• 1510 - The first known decorated Christmas Tree, in Latvia. Probably decorated with paper, fruits and sweets.
• 1531, the first retail Christmas Tree lots are opened in German cities.
• 18th century, the first recorded Christmas Tree decorated with lit candles.
• 1777, the Christmas Tree was brought to America by German soldiers fighting for the British in the War of Independance.
• 1804, US soldiers stationed in Chicago bring fresh evergreen trees into their barracks at Christmastime.
• 1851, Mark Carr opens a retail Christmas Tree lot in New York City, the first in the United States.
• 1856, Franklin Pierce, 14th American President, brings the first Christmas Tree into the White House.
• 1923, President Calvin Coolidge starts the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony now held every year at the White House.

Legend has it that around a thousand years ago Saint Boniface, credited with converting the Germans to Christianity, came upon some pagans worshipping an oak tree. He cut down the tree, and in it's place a grew a young fir tree. Boniface took this as a sign of the Christian faith.

Martin Luther, the great German reformer is believed to have taken a tree into his house, then decorated it with candles to show how wonderful the stars had looked one night he was travelling. Fir trees adorned with brightly coloured paper and lights have been popular ever since.

It has been long considered that in Britain, Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband introduced the idea of bringing a tree indoors at Christmas and this was a fashion soon copied throughout the land.

• The Christmas Tree is a German tradition
• In the 1800s the tradition of a Christmas tree then moved to England and onto America through Pennsylvanian German immigrants.
• After the death of Queen Victoria, the artificial Christmas tree became popular, including the Goose Feather tree made in Germany.

St. Boniface Story

Why do we have a decorated Christmas Tree? In the 7th century a monk from Crediton, Devonshire, went to Germany to teach the Word of God. He did many good works there, and spent much time in Thuringia, an area which was to become the cradle of the Christmas Decoration Industry.

Legend has it that he used the triangular shape of the Fir Tree to describe the Holy Trinity of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The converted people began to revere the Fir tree as God's Tree, as they had previously revered the Oak. By the 12th century it was being hung, upside-down, from ceilings at Christmastime in Central Europe, as a symbol of Christianity.

The first decorated tree was at Riga in Latvia, in 1510. In the early 16th century, Martin Luther is said to have decorated a small Christmas Tree with candles, to show his children how the stars twinkled through the dark night.

The First English Trees

The Christmas Tree first came to England with the Georgian Kings who came from Germany. At this time also, German Merchants living in England decorated their homes with a Christmas Tree. The British public were not fond of the German Monarchy, so did not copy the fashions at Court, which is why the Christmas Tree did not establish in Britain at that time. A few families did have Christmas trees however, probably more from the influence of their German neighbours than from the Royal Court.

The decorations were Tinsels, silver wire ornaments, candles and small beads. All these had been manufactured in Germany and East Europe since the 17th century. The custom was to have several small trees on tables, one for each member of the family, with that persons gifts stacked on the table under the tree.

The Victorian and Albert Tree

In 1846, the popular Royals, Queen Victoria and her German Prince, Albert, were illustrated in the Illustrated London News. They were standing with their children around a Christmas Tree. Unlike the previous royals Victoria was actually popular with the public, and whatever happened at Court was immediately fashionable.

The British tree in the 20th century

After Queen Victoria died, the country went into mourning, and the tree somehow died with her for a while in many homes. While some families and community groups still had large tinsel strewn trees, many opted for the more convenient table top tree. These were available in a variety of sizes, and the artificial tree, particularly the Goose Feather Tree, became popular. These were originally invented in the 1880's in Germany, to combat some of the damage being done to Fir trees in the name of Christmas.

After 1918, because of licensing and export problems, Germany was not able to export its decorations easily. The market was quickly taken up by Japan and America, especially in Christmas Tree lights.

Britain's Tom Smith Cracker Company which has exported Christmas goods for over three decades, began to manufacture trees themselves for a short while.

In the 1930's There was a revival of Dickensian nostalgia, particularly in Britain. Christmas cards all sported Crinoline ladies with muffs and bonnets popular in the 1840's. Christmas Trees became large, and real again, and were decorated with many bells, balls and tinsels, and with a beautiful golden haired angel at the top. But wartime England put a stop to many of these trees. It was forbidden to cut trees down for decoration, and with so many raids, many people preferred to keep their most precious heirloom Christmas tree decorations carefully stored away in metal boxes, and decorated only a small tabletop tree with home-made decorations, which could be taken down into the shelters for a little Christmas cheer, when the air-raid sirens went.

Large trees were erected however in public places to give moral to the people at this time.

Postwar Britain saw a revival of the nostalgic again. people needed the security of Christmas, which is so unchanging in a changing world, as one of the symbols to set them back on their feet. Trees were as large as people could afford. Many poorer families still used the tabletop Goosefeather trees, Americas Addis Brush Trees were being imported into Britain, and these became immensely popular for a time. But the favourites were still real trees. The popular decorations were all produced by a British manufacturer, Swanbrand. and sold by FW Woolworth in Britain. Translucent plastic lock together shapes, Honeycomb paper Angels, 'glow-in the -dark icicles; also Polish glass balls and birds In South Wales, where real trees were often difficult to find in the rural areas, Holly Bushes were decorated.

The mid-1960's saw another change. A new world was on the horizon, and modernist ideas were everywhere. Silver aluminium trees were imported from America. The 'Silver Pine' tree, patented in the 1950's, was designed to have a revolving light source under it, with coloured gelatine 'windows, which allowed the light to shine in different shades as it revolved under the tree. No decorations were needed for this tree.

Decorations became sparse. Glass balls and lametta created an 'elegant' modern tree. Of course, many families ignored fashion and carried on putting their own well loved decorations on their trees!

More History

The decorated Christmas tree possibly really goes back to the ancient Romans. During their winter festival, decorated trees appeared with small pieces of metal.

During the Middle Ages an evergreen tree, the Paradise tree, was decorated with apples, symbolising the feast of Adam and Eve.

Christmas trees were sold in Alsace in 1540. Sold at local markets, the trees were taken and set up in homes without any decorations.

Folklore credits Martin Luther as the first to decorate an indoor tree. Returning from a walk through a forest of evergreens with shining stars overhead, Luther failed to describe the experience to his family and so showed them by bringing a tree into their home and decorating it with candles.

The oldest record of a decorated Christmas tree comes from a 1605 diary found in Strasburg. The tree was decorated with paper apples, roses and sweets.