Why do we Have Christmas Trees?

Christmas Tree

    The fir tree is considered "Gods Tree." When St. Boniface, a 7th century monk, went to Germany to teach the Word of God, he used the fir tree as a teaching tool. He is said to have used the triangular shape of the tree to describe the Holy Trinity, and soon it was considered God's tree. By the 12th century, it was hung upside-down in homes around Christmas time as a christian symbol. The first decorated tree was in Latvia, where Martin Luther put candles in the tree to show the children how the stars shine throughout the night. Christmas Markets were set up in German towns, and sold everything needed for Christmas, like food and presents. At these fairs ornaments were sold that people would bring home and hang on their trees. When tinsel was first created, they used real silver pulled into wafer-thin pieces.

    The Christmas tree came to England with Gregorian kings from Germany. England didn't want to copy Germany's traditions, so only a few people had trees, probably influenced more by their German neighbors instead of the Royal Court. The custom was to have several small trees, one for each member of the family. When an image came out of Queen Victoria came out with a Christmas tree, it quickly became fashionable in England and the colonial Americas. People would make their own ornaments until the 1850's, when fancy glass beads and other items were sold to decorate the trees. With the trees becoming more trendy, people wanted to chop bigger trees, and weren't growing new ones, so laws were pass to prohibit anyone from having more then one tree. When trees got to America, at first only certain parts accepted this tradition. But soon many othger had trees, and the more glass ornaments on the tree, the higher status you had! People put the Nation's flag on the top of the tree, and trees became very patriotic. In 1882, the first patent in America for electric Christmas lights was created. People started wanting to put more and more on their tree, so the size of the trees in peoples homes grew, and the size of your tree influenced your status. Some trees were decorated with a theme, like an Egyptian themed tree or an Oriental themed tree. The way trees were styled continued to change throughout time. Still today trees are decorated with color schemes or designs in mind. How do you decorate your tree?