The History Behind the Christmas Tree

December is here, which means Christmas is right around the corner! It’s about time to start setting up those Christmas trees (although, if you’re anything like us, you’ve had yours up for an amount of time you probably aren’t willing to admit to!). But besides being a decorative addition to the holiday season, and providing some delightful cover for those painstakingly-wrapped gifts, why exactly do we hack up an evergreen and put it in our home to garnish and light up?

​The history of the Christmas tree dates back beyond the night when our Savior resided in a humble manger. 

In fact, the first documented case of anything similar to what we now know as the Christmas tree belongs to the Egyptians. Every year, when the coldest months seemed to suck the life out of their world, ancient Egyptians would bring a little reminder of summer into their homes as a reminder that times would be good again.   

​Similar traditions can be found in the early timelines of Rome, Scandinavia, and the Celtic nations. But the true predecessor to our festive friends lies with the Germans.

In 1521, a painting was made in Germany of a tree being paraded through the streets by a man on horseback, dressed as a bishop. Some believe the man to be a representation of St. Nick, though little is actually known about the origin of the painting. But, thanks to some writings from later in the 1500s, we do know that the painting depicts a celebration in which an evergreen tree, decorated with nuts, apples, pretzels, and paper flowers, would be paraded through the town before ending up in the market square, where people would dance and sing around it. Sounds pretty Christmas-y, right? Except for the part where they’d burn the tree at the end of the party, that is! 

In fact, it’s likely that this painting is actually showing a “Tree of Paradise,” which was a medieval tradition that celebrated Adam and Eve on December 24th. So, not quite Christmas, but definitely on the right track. How this “Tree of Paradise” evolved from a celebration of the first humans to a celebration of the birth of Christ, it’s not known. 

​The Germans have their own legend:

“Once on a cold Christmas Eve night, a forester and his family were in their cottage gathered round the fire to keep warm. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. When the forester opened the door, he found a poor little boy standing on the door step, lost and alone. The forester welcomed him into his house and the family fed and washed him and put him to bed in the youngest son’s own bed (he had to share with his brother that night!). The next morning, Christmas Morning, the family were woken up by a choir of angels, and the poor little boy had turned into Jesus, the Christ Child. The Christ Child went into the front garden of the cottage and broke a branch off a Fir tree and gave it to the family as a present to say thank you for looking after him. So ever since them, people have remembered that night by bringing a Christmas Tree into their homes!”

Another German legend (one that’s actually widely accepted amongst historians), claims that Martin Luther (yes, that Martin Luther!) was the first to put lights on the Christmas Tree.  ​According to the legend, Martin Luther was walking home on a cold winter evening after having composed a sermon. He looked upon the brilliant stars twinkling amongst the treetops and was so inspired, he ran home and managed to rig some candles along his family’s own Christmas tree with some wire, so he could share the beautiful sight he’d seen with his loved ones. Supposedly, this is the story of how lights were first added to the Christmas tree. ​

So while we might not know when bringing trees into the home first happened, but we do know that, sometime before 1546 (when Martin Luther died), most Germans homes wouldn’t see a Christmas without one. 

Whether or not either of those stories are true, history does credit Germany with the advent of both the Christmas tree tradition as we know it today (along with the addition of lights). 

​Germany’s Christmas trees didn’t make their way over to America until the late 1700s, when German settlers brought the tradition with them to the New Land. But, due to some pre-existing Pagan practices and the negative view of Pagans in general, they didn’t actually catch on until the 1840s. 

Did You Know?

The Christmas tree in Queen Victoria’s portrait is likely only around 5 feet high (if you look closely, you can see it sitting on some kind of platform). In fact, most Christmas trees in Europe averaged around 4 to 5 feet in height, depending on what the family could afford. But for some reason (potentially due to the Pagan influence), Americans liked their trees to reach floor to ceiling!

In 1846, Queen Victoria of England stood for a portrait alongside a decorated Christmas tree with Prince Albert and their children. Though the previous ruling family also reportedly had their own Christmas tree set up, Victoria was popular with the people, and this portrait (with its widespread publication) sparked a new trend. Suddenly, everyone in the country had to have their own tree for Christmas. 

With the whole of England obsessing over these new Christmas decorations, and the German precedent already relatively well-known, the practice quickly became all the rage in America. Most trees were brought in alive, roots intact, and kept in pots, though by the 1860s, metal tree holders were available for cut trees. Potted and cut trees would usually be adorned with nativity scenes around the base to disguise what was otherwise an unsightly support system to keep the tree upright. 

Christmas tree holders soon became polarized, with the options limited to expensive models that were pretty to look at but impossible to afford for the average family, or cheap, flimsy models that only lasted one year and looked ghastly. This led to families covering their metal holders with carpets in addition to decorating with a nativity scene, and these carpets are where we get the Christmas tree skirt from!

Early American Christmas trees were decorated with everything from homemade cloth ornaments to strings of berries and pastries. But, by the 1890s, ornaments specifically designed to decorate Christmas trees began arriving from Germany, and by the early 1900s, plenty of American companies began producing and selling their own specialty Christmas ornaments.

The next 100 years would see the incorporation of things like tinsel, popcorn, and electric lights into tree decoration, leading us all the way up to the 21t century, where Christmas trees are just as likely to be synthetic as they are real, ornaments are sold by most stores and are a popular souvenir, and Christmas lights are all but a given. 

Most Christmas trees are topped with an angel, meant to represent the angel announcing Christ’s birth to the shepherds, or a star, meant to represent the star that shone above the stable as a guide to Jesus. 

 ​​No matter how you choose to decorate your Christmas tree (or even if you don’t have a tree at all!), we hope this Christmas season brings you joy, happiness, family, friends, blessings, and peace as we remember the reason for the season: our Savior, the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

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Author

Emily Casuccio is sister and sister-in-law to Rebekah and Scott Rushing, and has over half a decade of experience in copywriting, copyediting, proofreading, and developmental storyboarding. She's worked with both published and undiscovered authors on both fiction and nonfiction, and takes pride in supporting local businesses. Her passion lies in the written word and helping authors of all capacities realize their dreams and achieve their fullest potential. To learn more about her, read samples of her work, or contact her, visit her online portfolio. 

Sources:
History of Christmas Trees
Why Christmas: The History of Christmas Trees
Christmas Tree