Christmas Gems

The Christmas Tree

Traditionally, the Christmas tree was not put up until 24th December, Christmas Eve and it was taken down on 6th January, 12th Night.  The Germans used to put their Christmas tree up on Christmas Eve and take it down on 1st January, once the New Year celebrations were over.  However, modern commercialism dictates that a lot of Christmas trees now go up as early as the first or second week in December.  This has been made possible by the fact that a lot of people use artificial Christmas trees - to bring a real fir or pine Christmas tree indoors that early would result in falling needles and half bare branches by Christmas Day.

The history of the Christmas tree certainly has its roots in pagan traditions,  The Norse Pagans and Celtic Druids worshipped evergreens as manifestations of deity because they were eternal and would not die but stayed green when all other trees and plants were dead and bare in winter.

Scandinavian Pagans were thought to have started the trend of bringing decorated trees indoor in order to attract the native fairy folk and tree elementals into their homes to join in the celebrations.  Germanic Pagan tribes are said to have been the first to place candles on the trees, while the Romans at Saturnalia, their midwinter festival, exchanged evergreen branches as a sign of good luck. 

The first Christmas tree is said to have been brought to England by Prince Albert in the 1840s and a picture of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their children in front of a decorated Christmas tree appeared in the London Illustrated News.  The fashion soon caught on and the Christmas tree became one of the main symbols of English Victorian Christmas.

In the 1850s the Thuringian Christmas Markets in Germany began to sell fancy glass shaped garlands and gilt angels.  By the 1860s the English Christmas trees would be hung with small gifts, although most gifts were still put inter the tree.  By the 1890s the Victorians had managed to go completely over the top - the Christmas tree would stretch from floor to ceiling and be festooned in toys, tinsel and garlands, great fun for the children, but maybe not in the best of taste.