Christmas Trees and Their Origins

My daughter and I were out shopping for Christmas gifts for her friends. We were looking at Christmas trees. She asked how Christmas tree came about. They show on TV programs about Santa Clause is coming to town explains all about Santa Clause from how he grew up to his suit. They also have TV show explaining how Frosty the Snowman came about.

My first response was I thought Christmas tree started in Germany called O Tannenbaum which is the word for Christmas tree in German (that actual translation is fir tree)

There are many legends to when this custom started. The first story starts in the 7^th Century from Saint Bonface who was a monk at the time. He was from England. He tried use the fir tree as show and tell to show the Germans about the Holy Trinity. For those who are not familiar with Catholicism the Holy Trinity is three people the father, the son and Holy Spirit (the Holy Spirit is God)

The second story is a family lived very deep in the woods on snow winter night a boy nocked on the door seeking shelter from the very awful storm. The family invited the boy in for the night and game him dinner and place to sleep and stay warm till next morning. The next morning the family woke up to music and the boy was dressed really nice suit. They family was taken aback by this development. The boy told the family he was Christ child and to show the family his appreciation and kindness he gave them branch he broke off from a fir tree which magically turned into a very lovely Christmas tree.

As the Christmas tree was becoming tradition in America from the beginning through the influence of early German immigrants, the British were similarly starting the same tradition through the influence of German merchants and Germany High Class Society and people in general. While the Christmas tree was introduced in England by King George III’s German wife, it was not until Queen Victoria and her German husband, Prince Albert, celebrated Christmas with a decorated Christmas tree, that the tradition became established. In 1848, the Illustrated London News published an article on the Christmas tree at Windsor Castle which featured an illustration of the Royal Family surrounding a decorated Christmas tree. This soon became the fashionable standard for Christmas celebrations in England and America.