How The Christmas Tree Tradition Originated

As you hunt through your local lot of trees looking for the perfect Christmas tree or you browse through seemingly endless pages trying to buy Christmas trees online, have you found yourself wondering how we even started this tradition in the first place? It’s one of the most popular and well-known Christmas traditions out there, but just when did we start doing this? And why?

Gigi Seasons is here for your holiday quandary. We’ll answer your questions in today’s blog, and you can even check out our post on the origin of Christmas tree ornaments if you’re really getting curious this season. So grab some hot cocoa and cookies — let’s get talking about this treedition.

You know the tree at Rockefeller Center, in the White House, at Trafalgar Square, and, of course, the most important one of all — the one gracing your home. The beginning of Christmas trees, though, was much more humble. Germany is credited as first starting the Christmas tree tradition, though 16th-century Germans certainly didn’t buy Christmas trees online.

Devout Christians brought trees into their homes and decorated them with fruits, candles, and pastries. The first Christmas trees in the U.S., supposedly, were among German settlers in Pennsylvania. Even up until the 1840s, though, most Americans rejected the trees and viewed them as pagan symbols.

And then there was Queen Victoria. We’re not talking about a TV show or movie you binge-watch online — we mean the Queen Victoria. She was the premier trendsetter of the day, both in England and across the ocean. In 1846, she and her family were sketched in the Illustrated London News; the Queen and Prince Albert, with their children, stood around their Christmas tree. Just like that, news spread similarly to how it does today: celebrities were seen doing something, and suddenly Americans everywhere needed to do the same. The era of the Christmas tree had arrived and, clearly, it wasn’t leaving anytime soon.

There were some distinct differences between German and American decor, though. Europeans typically used smaller trees — about four feet tall — while Americans fancied taller trees that would reach upward to the ceiling. Ornaments also varied; strings of popcorn and berries, for example, are believed to have started in the U.S.

Artificial Christmas trees actually got their start in Germany as well. They were either wooden, tree-shaped pyramids or feather trees. In the 19th century, Germans developed artificial Christmas trees by using goose feathers they dyed green. This was in response to deforestation in Germany, and the practice caught on.

Though many people today can’t resist having a real tree in their home come Christmas day, many others opt for environmentally friendly, cost-effective Christmas trees, which can be used year after year. If you’re among the many who feel this way, but you find yourself wondering where to buy artificial Christmas trees, then we can help.