Why do we put up Christmas trees?

17/11/11

Seeing dad getting tangled in tinsel while decorating the family Christmas tree is always hilarious – but why do we put up these lovely trees in our homes during the festive season anyway? Do we put them by the window covered in decorations and lights to help attract Santa while he’s delivering the presents on Christmas eve?

A long, long time ago the Ancient Romans believed evergreen trees were a symbol of life during winter. They decorated their houses with branches taken from evergreen trees during a festival for their god Saturn, who was the god of agriculture and harvests. Pagens (early English people who did not believe in Christianity) also placed evergreen branches over doorways to scare away sinister spirits during the Winter Solstice in late December. Sometimes the Pagens would hang shiny objects on the branches to try and make the sunlight return during the long winter nights and this is where the idea of decorating Christmas trees comes from.

The first Christmas tree was put up by Prince Albert (better known as Queen Victoria’s husband) when He brought it back from a trip to Germany. He put the tree up in Windsor Castle for everyone to see and people all over the country wanted to have one too! During the Victorian times many trees were decorated with candles to remind children of the stars in the sky – which is why we have fairy lights on our Christmas trees. It is also believed that the beautiful glass baubles often tied to the branches of Christmas trees are a modern replacement of the fruits and nuts that were hung on early Christmas trees!