Jessie Taylor
The Christmas tree tradition, as we know it, is believed to have started in Germany in the 16th century. Sources record devout German Christians bringing decorated trees into their homes. The Paradise tree (a fir tree decorated with apples) represented the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden. The Christmas Light, a small, pyramid-like frame, was usually decorated with glass balls, tinsel, and a candle on top, symbolizing the birth of Christ as the Light of the World. The Germans combined these two customs, creating the Christmas tree that we know today. The first person to add lights to the tree may have been the famous religious reformer, Martin Luther, who is said to have first hung lighted candles on a tree in the 16th century.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Germany |
| Date of origin | 16th century |
| Type of tree | Fir tree, Evergreen tree |
| Decorations | Apples, Tinsel, Cookies, Lights, Ornaments, Nuts, Gifts, Wreaths, Mistletoe, Garlands, Ivy, Straw, Wooden animals, Walnuts, Golden apples, Carobs |
| Lights | Candles |
| Revolutionist | Martin Luther |
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What You'll Learn
The origins of Christmas trees
The origins of the Christmas tree lie in the 16th century, with Germany credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it. Sources record devout German Christians bringing decorated trees into their homes. Some built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles if wood was scarce.
The Paradise tree, a fir tree decorated with apples, represented the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden. The Christmas Light, a small, pyramid-like frame, was usually decorated with glass balls, tinsel and a candle on top, symbolising the birth of Christ as the Light of the World. In the early 16th century, these customs were combined, and the Germans created the tree that many of us know today.
The first person to add lights to a Christmas tree may have been the famous religious reformer, Martin Luther. According to a common version of the story, Luther was walking home one winter evening, awestruck by the stars twinkling amidst evergreens. To recreate the scene for his family, he erected a tree in his home and wired its branches with lighted candles. Another legend places the first Christmas tree in the Cathedral of Strasbourg in 1539 under the leadership of the Protestant Reformer Martin Bucer.
By the 19th century, Christmas trees were a firmly established tradition in Germany. As Germans migrated, they took Christmas trees to other countries, notably England. German-speaking Moravians brought the Christmas tree to America, settling in Pennsylvania and North Carolina in the early 19th century. By the 1820s, the Christmas tree had become popular in these communities. In 1851, Mark Carr opened the first Christmas tree retail business, taking trees from the Catskill Mountains to New York City's Washington Market.
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The 16th-century revolutionists
The Christmas tree tradition, as we know it, started in Germany in the 16th century. Sources record devout German Christians bringing decorated trees into their homes. Some built Christmas pyramids out of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles if wood was scarce.
The 16th-century Protestant reformer Martin Luther is often credited with placing the first lighted candles on a Christmas tree. According to a popular version of the story, Luther was walking home one winter evening and was awed by the stars twinkling amidst the evergreens. To recreate the scene for his family, he erected a tree in his home and wired its branches with lighted candles.
Another legend suggests that in the early 16th century, people in Germany combined two customs practised in different countries globally. The Paradise tree (a fir tree decorated with apples) represented the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden. The Christmas Light was a small pyramid-like frame, usually decorated with glass balls, tinsel, and a candle on top, symbolising the birth of Christ as the Light of the World.
The Christmas tree tradition was later brought to America by German-speaking Moravians who settled in Pennsylvania and North Carolina in the early 19th century. By the 1820s, the Christmas tree had become popular in these communities, and in the 1840s, German immigrants popularised the tradition in the United States.
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The Paradise tree
Over time, other decorations were added to the Paradise tree, and it evolved into what we now know as the Christmas tree. One legend attributes the addition of lighted candles to Martin Luther, the famous 16th-century religious reformer. According to the story, Luther was inspired by the sight of stars shining through tree branches during a winter walk and recreated the scene for his family by placing candles on an evergreen tree.
By the 19th century, the Christmas tree had become a firmly established tradition in Germany, and German immigrants brought the custom to other countries, including England and the United States. In the 19th century, the Christmas tree was also adopted by German-speaking Moravians who settled in Pennsylvania and North Carolina, and it gradually gained acceptance among Americans, who had initially viewed it as a pagan symbol.
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The Christmas tree's journey to America
The tradition of the Christmas tree is believed to have originated in Germany in the 16th century, with some sources citing the use of decorated trees by German Lutherans as early as 1539. Over time, this tradition spread to other parts of Europe, and eventually made its way to America.
In the 1800s, German and Irish immigrants brought the Christmas tree tradition with them to America, where it gradually gained acceptance. The first records of Christmas trees being displayed in America date back to the 1820s in Pennsylvania's German community, and by the early 19th century, the custom had become common. However, it faced resistance from some Puritan leaders who viewed Christmas celebrations as unholy. Despite this, the Christmas tree continued to grow in popularity, especially among the German and Irish immigrant communities.
The tradition received a significant boost in the 1840s when Queen Victoria and her German husband, Prince Albert, were sketched standing with their children around a Christmas tree. This image, published in the Illustrated London News, was reprinted in American magazines and helped to spread the popularity of Christmas trees across America. By the 1870s, putting up a Christmas tree had become a common practice in America, and in 1889, President Benjamin Harrison and his wife Caroline put up the first White House Christmas tree.
Today, Christmas trees are an integral part of American holiday celebrations, with many families choosing to display real trees in their homes. The top Christmas tree-producing states in the US are Oregon and North Carolina, which produce millions of trees each year. The process of growing and harvesting Christmas trees is a labour of love, with farmers planting and caring for the trees for 6-12 years before they reach maturity.
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The dangers of candle-lit trees
The dangers of candle-lit Christmas trees were well documented in the 19th century. As more people welcomed Christmas trees into their homes, they began to notice problems with the candle-lit design. The first hurdle was securing the candles to the branches. Even when candles were securely attached, candle-lit Christmas trees were a notable fire hazard. In those days, Christmas trees were only kept lit for about 30 minutes, and even then, they required a lot of attention and buckets of water and sand close at hand. Accidental Christmas tree fires became prevalent and insurance companies stopped paying out for fires started by candle-lit trees.
The use of candles on Christmas trees dates back to the 16th century. It is widely believed that the 16th-century Protestant reformer Martin Luther first added lighted candles to a tree. According to a common version of the story, Luther was walking home one winter evening and was awed by the stars twinkling amidst evergreens. To recapture the scene for his family, he erected a tree in the main room and wired its branches with lighted candles.
The Christmas tree was first recorded to be used by German Lutherans in the 16th century, with records indicating that a Christmas tree was placed in the Cathedral of Strasbourg in 1539 under the leadership of the Protestant Reformer Martin Bucer. The Moravian Christians put lighted candles on those trees. The earliest known firmly dated representation of a Christmas tree is on the keystone sculpture of a private home in Turckheim, Alsace, dated 1576.
The tradition of lighting the Christmas tree is one that was developed over many centuries. The earliest ritual use of evergreens and lights comes from the ancient pagans, who used the combination to symbolize life in the dead of winter. It is believed Christians first adopted the Yule log from pagans, although there is no existing reference to its Christian use prior to the 16th century.
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Frequently asked questions
The tradition of Christmas trees is often associated with the 16th-century Protestant reformer Martin Luther. German Lutherans in the 16th century are also credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition.
According to lore, Martin Luther first hung lighted candles on a tree in the 16th century. Walking home one winter evening, Luther was captivated by the stars twinkling through the evergreens. He recreated this scene by bringing a tree into his home and wiring its branches with lighted candles.
In the 16th century, paradise trees were hung with apples and displayed in German homes on December 24, the feast day of Adam and Eve. These apples represented the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden.
German-speaking Moravians brought the Christmas tree tradition to Pennsylvania and North Carolina in the early 19th century. By the 1820s, Christmas trees had become popular, and the first Christmas tree retail business opened in 1851. In 1878, clip-on candle holders were invented, but they emphasized the danger of tree fires. In 1882, Edward Johnson of the Edison Electric Light Company introduced the first electrically illuminated Christmas tree.
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