Origin of the Christmas Tree
In Winter, when most trees are bare, fir trees are covered in bright green needles.
By bringing them into the house, we're bringing in a little feeling of new-growth and summer.
By decorating the tree with tinsel and baubles we're adding blossom and fruit.
But when did the idea of chopping down a tree, bringing it into the home and decorating it begin? Well - pardon the pun- it obviously had its roots in earlier pagan (non-Christian) celebrations but, according to the historian Clement A.
Miles, the first recorded mention of a Christmas tree was in 1605 in Strasbourg.
It was covered in everything from paper roses to sweets and gold foil.
The three points To justify having what was, probably, originally part of a pagan festival as the centre of Christian celebrations, the Christmas tree has since been given added Christian symbolism.
It was pointed out that the basic shape of a Christmas tree is a triangle, with one point at the top.
The three points are said to represent the 'Holy Trinity' of God the father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost.
St Boniface According to legend, in eighth-century Germany, a Christian saint called Boniface stumbled upon a group of pagans worshiping an oak tree.
They were just about to sacrifice a baby to the tree when St Boniface dashed to his rescue.
He snatched the axe about to be used in the sacrifice, and chopped down the tree instead.
Picking up the baby, Boniface saw that there, growing between the roots of the chopped-down oak, was a tiny fir tree.
To him, this symbolized new life coming from death, as with Christ's resurrection.
From then on, the tree came an important part of Christmas celebrations in Germany.
The first tree in England Many people believe that the idea of the Christmas tree was brought over to England by Prince Albert, the German husband of Queen Victoria.
Albert first ordered a tree from Coburg in Christmas 1841.
In fact, there had already been a Christmas tree at Windsor Castle in the 1790s.
It had been ordered by Queen Charlotte, the wife of King George III.
However, it was interest in Prince Albert's tree that somehow caught the public imagination and made the Christmas tree such an important part of Christmas in Britain.
The Trafalgar Square tree One of the most famous Christmas trees is the one presented to the British people every year by Norway.
This is as a 'thank you' to Britain for its help during the Second World War.
When Norway was occupied by enemy forces, the King of Norway, King Haakon, escaped to England.
Here, he set up a 'Free Norwegian Government'.
Since 1947, a tree about 23 meters (70 feet) tall has been sent over from Oslo and erected in Trafalgar Square, near Nelson's Column, every Christmas.
By bringing them into the house, we're bringing in a little feeling of new-growth and summer.
By decorating the tree with tinsel and baubles we're adding blossom and fruit.
But when did the idea of chopping down a tree, bringing it into the home and decorating it begin? Well - pardon the pun- it obviously had its roots in earlier pagan (non-Christian) celebrations but, according to the historian Clement A.
Miles, the first recorded mention of a Christmas tree was in 1605 in Strasbourg.
It was covered in everything from paper roses to sweets and gold foil.
The three points To justify having what was, probably, originally part of a pagan festival as the centre of Christian celebrations, the Christmas tree has since been given added Christian symbolism.
It was pointed out that the basic shape of a Christmas tree is a triangle, with one point at the top.
The three points are said to represent the 'Holy Trinity' of God the father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost.
St Boniface According to legend, in eighth-century Germany, a Christian saint called Boniface stumbled upon a group of pagans worshiping an oak tree.
They were just about to sacrifice a baby to the tree when St Boniface dashed to his rescue.
He snatched the axe about to be used in the sacrifice, and chopped down the tree instead.
Picking up the baby, Boniface saw that there, growing between the roots of the chopped-down oak, was a tiny fir tree.
To him, this symbolized new life coming from death, as with Christ's resurrection.
From then on, the tree came an important part of Christmas celebrations in Germany.
The first tree in England Many people believe that the idea of the Christmas tree was brought over to England by Prince Albert, the German husband of Queen Victoria.
Albert first ordered a tree from Coburg in Christmas 1841.
In fact, there had already been a Christmas tree at Windsor Castle in the 1790s.
It had been ordered by Queen Charlotte, the wife of King George III.
However, it was interest in Prince Albert's tree that somehow caught the public imagination and made the Christmas tree such an important part of Christmas in Britain.
The Trafalgar Square tree One of the most famous Christmas trees is the one presented to the British people every year by Norway.
This is as a 'thank you' to Britain for its help during the Second World War.
When Norway was occupied by enemy forces, the King of Norway, King Haakon, escaped to England.
Here, he set up a 'Free Norwegian Government'.
Since 1947, a tree about 23 meters (70 feet) tall has been sent over from Oslo and erected in Trafalgar Square, near Nelson's Column, every Christmas.
