Why do we put a christmas tree in our house during winter time, in december? In the 7th century a monk from Devonshire, went to Germany to speak the word of god. He spent some time in an area called Thuringia, which would become the source of Christmas Decoration Industry. According to the legend, 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.
In Latvia (Riga) the first decorated tree was placed, in 1510. In the 16th century, Martin Luther decorated a small Christmas Tree with candles, as to show to his children the stars twinkeling through the dark night. In the mid 16th century, Christmas markets were set up in a few German towns,providing gifts, food and more tools such as a knife grinder to sharpen the knife to carve the Christmas Goose! At these markets, bakers made shaped gingerbreads and wax ornaments for people to buy as souvenirs of the market, and take home to hang on their own Christmas Trees.
The best record available is that of a visitor to Strasbourg in early 1601. He decorated a tree with "wafers and paper flowers and golden sugar-twists (Barleysugar)". The many food items were symbols for Plenty, the flowers, in origin only red, stood for knowledge, white stood for innocence.
The Christmas Tree first came to England with the Georgian Kings coming from Germany. During this period, German Merchants living in England decorated their homes with their own Christmas Tree. As the British public was not fond of the monarchy in Germany, they did not copy the fashions of the Court, which is the reason for the Christmas Tree not establishing in Britain at that time.
In 1846 Queen Victoria and Albert, her German Prince, were published in the Illustrated London News. They were portraited standing with their children around a real Christmas tree. The previous Royal family, which was a family not loved by the public, was nothing like this new royal family. Victoria was very popular, every thing she did immediately became fashionable. Not only in Britain but with fashion-conscious East Coast American Society as well. The English Christmas Tree was a fact! Decorations were still of a 'home-made' variety. Young Ladies would spent hours at Christmas Crafts, stars and quilling snowflakes, sewing little pouches for a secret gift. Candles were often placed into wooden hoops for safety.
In 1850's Lauscha began the production of fancy shaped glass bead garlands for the trees. These were available in Germany but not produced in sufficient quantities to export to the british mainland. The 1860's English Tree had become more innovative than the delicate trees of the earlier decades. Small toys were hung on the branches of the tree, but still most gifts were placed on a table under the tree.
At this time, the Christmas tree was spreading into other countries in Europe. The Mediterranean countries were not too interested in the tree. Italy had a wooden triangle platform tree called as 'CEPPO'.
The German tree was beginning to suffer from mass destruction! It had become the fashion to lop off the tip off a large tree to use as a Christmas Tree, preventing the tree from growing any further. Statutes were made to prevent people having more than one tree.
Just like the first trees introduced into Britain did not immediately take off, the early trees introduced into America by the Hessian soldiers were not recorded in any particular quantity. The Pennsylvanian German settlements had community trees as early as 1747.
America as a large country, tended to have 'pockets' of customs relating to the immigrants who had settled in a particular area, and it was not until the communications really got going in the 19th century, that such customs began spreading. Around 1870, Glass ornaments were being imported into Britain from Lauscha. It had become a status symbol to several have glass ornaments on the tree, the more , the better ones status! Still many home-made things were seen.
The 1880's saw a rise of the Aesthetic Movement. In this period, Christmas Trees became a glorious hotchpotch of everything one could cram on; or by complete contrast the aesthetic trees which were delicately balanced trees, with delicate colours, shapes and style. they also grew to floor standing trees. The limited availability of tree decorations in earlier decades kept trees to table trees. But now, with decorations as well as crafts becoming more popular than ever, there was no excuse anymore. It still was a status symbol, the larger the tree the more affluent the family. The High Victorian of the 1890's was a marvelous! As tall as it reached the ceiling, crammed with glitter and tinsel and toys galore. Even the normal, middle class people, managed to over-decorate their own trees. It was a case of anything goes. Everything that could possibly get on the tree went onto it.
In 1900, themed trees became popular. A colour theme set in ribbons or balls, a topical idea such as an Oriental Tree, or an Egyptian Tree. They were to be the last of the great Christmas Trees for some time. With the death of Victoria in 1901, the Nation went into mourning and fine trees were not really in evidence until the nostalgia of the Dickensian fashion of the 1930's.
In America, Christmas Trees got introduced into several pockets - the German Hessian Soldiers took their tree customs in the 18th century. Settlers from all over Europe took their customs also in the 19th century. Decorations for the tree were not easy to find in the shanty towns of the West, and people began to make their own homemade decorations. Tin was pierced to create small lights and lanterns to hold candles which could shine through the holes. Decorations of all kinds were created. The General Stores were hunting grounds for old magazines with pictures. The Paper 'Putz' or Christmas Crib was a popular feature under the tree, especially in the Moravian Dutch communities which settled in Pennsylvania.
After Queen Victoria died, the country went into mourning, and the tree somehow disappeared 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 different sizes, and the artificial tree, particularly the Goose Feather Tree, became popular. These were originally invented in 1880 in Germany created to combat some of the damage being done to Fir trees in the name of Christmas. In America, the Addis Brush Company created the very first brush trees, using the same machinery which made their toilet brushes! These had an advantage over the feather tree in that they would take much heavier decorations. After 1918, because of licensing and export problems, Germany was not able to export its decorations easily. The market was quickly taken up by America and Japan, especially for Christmas Tree lights.
In the 1930's there was a short 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 hard stop to many of these christmas trees. It was forbidden to cut trees down just for decoration, and with so many raids going on, 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 away into the shelter for a little Christmas cheer, when the air-raid sirens went. Large trees were erected in public places to give moral to the people during this time of war. Postwar Britain saw a revival of the nostalgic period again. People had a need of the security of Christmas, which was so unchanging in a changing world, as one of the symbols to set them back on their feet, to help them keeping their faith. 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 as well. These became immensely popular for a brief time. People still preferred real trees. The popular decorations were all produced by a British manufacturer named Swanbrand.
In mid 1960 another change took place. A new world was on the horizon, modernist ideas were spreading. Silver aluminium trees were imported from America. Decorations became sparse. Glass balls and lametta created a modern tree. Many families ignored this temporary fashion and carried on putting their own decorations on their trees. America made a return to Victorian nostalgia in 1970, ten years later Britain followed the fashion. Real Christmas Trees were immensly popular, however many housewives preferred the convenience of the authentic looking artificial trees which were being manufactured. If the room was big enough, you could have a 14 foot artificial Spruce right there in your living room, without a single dropped needle. It looked just like a real tree but did not have the 'disadvantages'. There are even pine scented sprays available to put on the tree for the real smell.
The late 1990 tree has mixed the Victorian idea with new themes and modern designs.