History of the Christmas Tree

Dear friends of Training Centre “Raya” – London, you are probably expecting the continuation of the story about the life of the famous Briton Dr. Down, but since Christmas is coming and it is time for a Christmas tale, we will tell you more about him later. Now, read how the Christmas tree became a holiday tradition in our homes! Be sure to check the English version of the text as well, so you can learn and remember the new words!

Long ago, in pagan times, Europeans celebrated the winter solstice on the 20th or 21st of December. On this shortest day of the year, in addition to their traditional activities, people decorated their homes with branches of evergreen trees as a sign of hope that spring would come again. During their Saturnalia celebrations, the Romans decorated their temples with fir branches. It is not entirely clear when the fir tree became the traditional tree we bring home for Christmas. It is believed that this began about 1,000 years ago in Northern Europe.

In Germany, during the Middle Ages, so-called mysteries or miracle plays were performed. They were staged in front of churches on Christmas Eve and biblical stories were retold for those who could not read. There, the paradise tree was represented by fir branches decorated with apples, which were carried through the town as an advertisement for the performance. Over time, the decorations became richer — fruits and even sweets hung from the branches. The tree itself was called Christbaum, or Christ’s tree, by the Germans.

The first documented use of a Christmas tree for the holidays is disputed between the capitals of Estonia and Lithuania — Tallinn and Riga. In both the Estonian and the Lithuanian accounts, the tree was placed in the town square and people danced around it. Responsible for its appearance in both stories were the Brotherhood of the Blackheads — an organisation of merchants and shipowners, who were, notably, bachelors. In one version the date is 1441, in the other — 1510.

There is a drawing from Germany, dated 1521, which shows a Christmas tree being carried through the streets, followed by a horserider, dressed as a priest, presumably representing St. Nicholas. There are also accounts of decorated Christmas trees in the cities of Sélestat and Strasbourg in the Alsace region, as well as from Riga, Bremen, and other towns.

The first tree brought into a home and decorated is believed to have been that of the German preacher Martin Luther in the 16th century. One story tells how, while walking through a pine forest on the night before Christmas, he saw the stars shining through the branches of a fir tree and thought that on this night Jesus had sent His treasures down to Earth. He brought a similar tree home for his children, told them what he had seen, and to imitate the stars, he decorated its branches with candles.

And the first Christmas tree in Britain? It was introduced as a tradition by the German wife of King George III — Queen Charlotte. She personally decorated a yew tree for the children in 1800 at Windsor Palace, and the tradition spread first to aristocratic households and later to more ordinary homes.

In 1851, in New York, Mark Carr was the first person to sell several evergreen trees cut in the mountains directly on the street, so they could be decorated for Christmas. By the beginning of the 20th century, the sale of Christmas trees and other evergreens had become a profitable business, and in 1901, again in the United States, the first Christmas tree farm was established, where hundreds of trees were planted to be cut down for the Holy Night.

And the first Christmas tree decorations? They also originated in Germany — apples painted with gold paint and sweet pretzels. Later, lit candles were added, and the tree itself was given a “skirt,” or base covering, made of expensive heavy fabric. At the beginning of the 19th century, figures depicting the Nativity scene began to be arranged on this covering. The first garlands were made of fabric with shiny metallic thread woven into it.

Since then, the tradition has continued to grow richer, with beautiful glass ornaments added, and recently a trend toward artificial Christmas trees and lots of plastic is getting more and more popular. But let us not forget that the original purpose of decorating with evergreen branches was the hope for spring and new life — a hope that would warm the harsh winter.

Author: Iveta Radeva