The origin of the Christmas tree The Christmas tree is associated with the celebration of Christmas. We decorate it with balls full of glitter and lights in many colours. In the middle of December all people place the balls and lights on the Christmas tree in order to show that the happy fact of Christ’s birth is celebrated during the period from the middle of December to 25th December.
The modern Christmas tree originates from the Renaissance and early modern Germany. There are many theories about the Christmas tree origin. One theory suggests that it originates from ancient Egypt, ancient China and the Hebrews. According to an encyclopedia the ancient Egyptians, Chinese and Hebrews used it in order to make the bad spirits and the devils go away from the house.
At the beginning of the 18th century, the German adopted this custom from other civilizations. Quickly it became common in the towns of the upper Rhineland. In the 19th century the decoration of the Christmas tree was part of the tradition in Germany. It became more popular after the decision of their army to place it in hospitals during the 1870 – 1871 war.
In the middle of the 19th century this custom expanded in the rest of Europe. Princess Henrietta of Nassau -Weilburg introduced the Christmas tree decoration to Vienna in 1816 and the custom spread across Austria. In France the 1st Christmas tree,was introduced in 1840 by Duchess d'Orleans. According to a Danish newspaper the first Christmas tree was lit in 1808 by countess Wilhemine of Holsteinborg. It was the aging countess who told the story of the first Danish Christmas tree to the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen in 1865.
Lastly in North America this tradition was first introduced in Canada in the winter of 1781. The tradition was introduced to Canada in the winter of 1781 by Brunswick soldiers stationed in the Province of Quebec to garrison the colony against American attack. General Friedrich Adolf Riedesel and his wife, the Baroness von Riedesel, held a Christmas party at Sorel, delighting their guests with a fir tree decorated with candles and fruits.A.Dertsas
