The history behind Christmas Trees
Year after year, we all put up and decorate our Christmas Trees during the festive season. They are the staple and ultimate classic when it comes to Christmas décor. However, when you decide to decorate your home, you can almost always guarantee that a Christmas Tree will be amongst it. But do we truly know the origins of how we have come to this tradition? Here at ChristmasTimeUK, we are going to give you an insight into the history behind it all.
Origins
According to history.com, the tradition of Christmas Trees originated in Germany in the 16th century. Due to a shortage of wood in the winter, people would make pyramid-shaped stacks of wood and bring evergreens into their homes. These would be decorated with candles and pines to remind them that spring will come. Martin Luther is often acknowledged as being the first to put lights on the Christmas tree, using candles to light them up.
Growth in popularity
The tradition became more widely known across the globe through German emigrants taking the traditions with them to other countries. Christmas trees were all across Europe by the 18th century.
It is thought that Queen Charlotte set up the first Christmas Tree in the UK, due to being the German wife of King George III, according to whychristmas.com. There are even records that she had a yew branch in Kew Palace or Windsor Castle that she helped to decorate herself. This became a popular event for the royal family.
However, the tradition didn’t become popular in the UK until 1848 when Queen Victoria and Prince Albert (who was of German heritage) were pictured in a newspaper called Illustrated London, standing around a Christmas tree with their family. Queen Victoria was extremely popular in her time so whatever she did quickly became a trend. The tradition skyrocketed around the world after this.
