The first real evidence of Fir Trees being decorated for the Christmas holiday dates back to some time in the 16th Century in Europe. There were documents that described several different organizations, churches, and even royal families decorating trees for Christmas celebrations.
Back in the 7th Century, an English Monk, Saint Boniface, starts using a triangular shape to represent the Holy Trinity in teaching the Gospel to Germans in what s today s west central region of Germany. This symbol was eventually changed to look more like a Fir Tree, which was common in the region.
The first act of decorating a Fir Tree to celebrate Christmas dates back to a German Fairy Tale in the early 15th Century. The story is about a family that takes in a young boy on a snowy night before Christmas and the boy surprises them in the morning with a Fir Tree branch that turns into a beautifully decorated tree to celebrate Christmas.
The decorations were often made out of paper, local fruit, and candles. The Germans regarded the Fir Tree as a religious symbol that was associated with the Christmas celebrations. Martin Luther is reported to decorate a Fir Tree with candles to teach his congregation about the stars in the late 1600s and other evidence exists for many different areas of Germany using decorated Fir Trees.
The first recorded evidence of decorating Fir Trees in the United States was during the Revolutionary War. The English employed many professional soldiers from Germany and one of the historic battles of the war played a small part in this introduction. General Washington s famous surprise attack on December 26th in 1776 was planned to take advantage of the troops who had celebrated Christmas the day before and would be in no shape to defend their encampment. Supposedly part of the merriment of the celebration was a decorated Fir Tree.
In the next year in 1777, German prisoners decorated Fir Trees while being held in the Noden Reed House in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. As more settlers came from Germany, the tradition spread along with them wherever they settled. Windsor Locks takes credit for the first Christmas Tree to this day.
The general popularity of the Christmas Tree in both England and the United States started to gain real momentum in the mid 1800s. There was an article published by the London News about Prince Albert and Queen Victoria decorating a Christmas Tree in the Windsor Castle around 1848 and even had an illustration of the tree.
The tradition continued to grow and became both a commercial and religious symbol associated with celebrating Christmas. Many communities kick off the Christmas Holiday season after Thanksgiving with huge lighting ceremonies to mark the start of Christmas shopping and celebrations.
The tree type and decorations of Christmas Trees have changed many times over the years. From artificial aluminum trees with many different colors, flocked trees of all types, to reproductions that look exactly like the real Fir Tree. Decorations have expanded to many different types from organic to homemade ornaments.
Huge Christmas Trees are displayed in major cities and shopping areas all over the nation. The lighting of the communality Christmas Tree is very popular and is a huge celebration. From Times Square in New York, the White House in Washington DC, to the small Midwestern towns across America, Christmas Trees start the Christmas season.
For many people the putting up of the family Christmas Tree is a family gathering and individual ornaments and decorations are very personal to members of the family. What once was a symbol of religion in the 6th Century is now accepted by many as a symbol of good cheer and kindness to others in general.
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