A Little Christmas Tree History

This coming weekend of the 14th-16th December, Naturally Craft will be taking part in the Gathered White Christmas Market 2018 in the German town of Hahndorf, Adelaide for its annual Christkindlmarkt.

This is a European-style Christmas market and as such it has inspired us to dig into the history of the humble Christmas tree! Enjoy!

 

• Before Christianity, people used to believe that evergreen trees could ward off evil spirits and ghosts, so they used to hang them over doors and windows in their homes to protect themselves.
• In the 16th century, devout Christians made pyramids of wood in their homes and decorated them with evergreens .
• The first documented use of a evergreen tree at Christmas and New Year celebrations was in the town square of Riga, Latvia in 1510.
• Romans trimmed evergreen trees with trinkets and topped them with an image of their sun god to celebrate Saturnalia.
• The Christmas tree immediately became fashionable in England after Queen Victoria and her family were sketched standing next to a tree in 1846.
• Thomas Edison’s assistants came up with the idea of electric lights for Christmas trees.
• In Germany, communities pile their old Christmas trees together and burn them in an Easter fire to celebrate the onset of Spring.

 

 

So there you have it! You can use these facts around the table at Christmas lunch and impress the rellies with your European knowledge! n the meantime, we hope to see you at the Christkindlmarkt!