Christmas Trivia: The Christmas Tree

Whether you are into fibre optic ultra modern styles, the smell-fantastic-drop-needles-everywhere-for-two-weeks live ones, or an interesting collection of twigs - there would be a Christmas tree in almost every home......

16th-century Germany fir trees were decorated, both indoors and out, with apples, roses, gilded candies, and colored paper. In the Middle Ages, a popular religous play depicted the story of Adam and Eve's expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

A fir tree hung with apples was used to symbolize the Garden of Eden -- the Paradise Tree. The play ended with the prophecy of a saviour coming, and so was often performed during the Advent season.

It is held that Protestant reformer Martin Luther first adorned trees with light. While coming home one December evening, the beauty of the stars shining through the branches of a fir inspired him to recreate the effect by placing candles on the branches of a small fir tree inside his home

The Christmas Tree was brought to England by Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert from his native Germany. The famous Illustrated News etching in 1848, featuring the Royal Family of Victoria, Albert and their children gathered around a Christmas tree in Windsor Castle, popularized the tree throughout Victorian England. Brought to America by the Pennsylvania Germans, the Christmas tree became by the late 19th century.

Our Christmas tradition is to buy each child a decoration every year (and after many arguments with my siblings over the years I write them down in a book each year - which in itself becomes  record of Christmas - when the older boys moved out they took their with them for their tree - I also buy one for the family - so there are still some left on our tree !! This year we get to buy one for our Granddaughter Harper and continue the tradition my mother started.

Until tomorrow

Angela