by Gordon Hamilton

Created on: December 17, 2008

The tradition of the Christmas Tree is said to have originated in what is now Germany in the 7th Century AD. A visiting English monk was using the fir tree and its vaguely triangular shape to illustrate the concept of the Holy Trinity. The people thus began to think of the fir tree as a holy tree and over a period of many centuries, the tradition developed and spread in to what it represents today.

Likewise, it is claimed that the tradition of putting lights on the Christmas Tree also began in Germany. Reformer Martin Luther is said to have put candles on the family Christmas Tree to illustrate to his children how the stars light up the night sky. The practise quickly caught on and candles were soon being widely attached to Christmas Trees, either by using some of the melted wax from the candles or by pinning them in place. In the 19th Century, lantern holders were used to attach the candles to the trees in a more secure fashion.

The Christmas Tree was originally brought as far West as Great Britain by the German Monarchy but was not popularised until the 19th Century, when an image of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their children gathered around a large and brightly decorated Christmas Tree appeared in a London newspaper. This caught on with the British public and soon they were obtaining and decorating their own trees in much larger numbers.

Similarly, it was German immigrants who first introduced the Christmas Tree to the United States. The practise again, however, did not properly catch on until it was deemed fashionable following the aforementioned Queen Victoria Christmas Tree.

In 1882, Edward Johnson, a senior employee at Thomas Edison's electrical company, became the first person to put a string of electrical lights on a Christmas Tree. The company were soon mass producing the lights for large department stores to place on their trees.

Sadly, it took a tragic accident in New York City involving these lights for the safety aspect of the practise to be fully considered and addressed. Albert Sadacca was but fifteen years old when he read of the tragedy and deemed to create his own set of safer lights. Sales of his original white lights were low but when he introduced the concept of coloured lights, the company that he and his brothers formed really took off.

Since then, technology has developed at a staggering pace and LED (light emitting diode) lights pre-installed on Christmas Trees are commonplace. Christmas Trees now frequently have the appearance of an alien spacecraft from Star Trek or Star Wars as manufacturers and large retailers strive to outshine one another. Sometimes, however, it is nice to think back to earlier and simpler times, when humble candles, lovingly fixed to fir tree branches, reminded families that Christmas, and all the love and joy it brings, was near.

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