Christmas Trees - The History and Traditions

The Christmas tree, or sometimes called a Yule tree is one of the most popular traditions when it comes to Christmas. Basically everyone that celebrates Christmas will have a Christmas tree.

Obviously the most popular types of Christmas trees are the evergreen coniferous varieties.

History
Wikipedia says that Christmas trees have their origins in pre-Christian cultures - which I find a bit paradoxical. But the point is that early histories held special significance to various types of trees and treated them as sacred symbols.

It is often said that Saint Boniface was the inventor of the Christmas tree tradition. The Oak of Thor at Geismar was allegedly chopped down by Boniface to confront the old Gods and local tribes. A fir tree that grew at the roots of this Oak was claimed by Boniface to be a symbol.

It is also said that people used to hang Christmas trees upside-down from their ceilings. However, the current tradition of having Christmas trees is generally accepted as originating in 16th century Germany, although it can not be accredited to any one town or individual.

One of the oldest accounts relates to the Cathedral of Strasbourg which is recorded to have mentioned the erection of a Christmas tree in 1539. Furthermore, there were mentions of Christmas trees within German Guildhalls. In 1570 there was an account of a Christmas tree being decorated with fruit, dates, pretzels and paper flowers.

During the early part of the 18th century, this custom is said to have spread to upper Rhineland, although there is no account of it being witnessed in the rural parts of Rhineland.

Another interesting fact is that Christmas trees were seen as a Protestant tradition by Catholics and didn't take hold in the Catholic areas until many Prussian officials were moved their in 1815.

In the early 19th century the tradition spread through out Germany through out the royal courts and they could even be found in western Russia. In 1816 Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg introduced it to Vienna and then the tradition continued to spread.

One of the earliest accounts of Christmas trees in Britain was in 1832 when the child Princess Victoria mentioned it in her diary. They were again mentioned in 1847 by Prince Albert.

Traditions
Trafalgar Square in London receives a fantastic Christmas tree from the people of Oslo, Norway as a sign of thanks for the British people's support during the Second World War.