The green branches, twinkling lights, and the lovingly decorated Christmas trees are the most representative of the festivities. However, they were not as emblematic as they are today and their advent dates back before the existence of Christianity. The trees were important during winter solstice celebrations.
The possible predecessors
Long before Christmas traditions or Christianity existed, evergreen trees were important in late December. The ancient people hung spruce and evergreen branches over their windows and doors during the cold months because they symbolised good luck. They believed that the branches would keep away ghosts, witches, illnesses and evil spirits.
The ritual still exists in the Northern Hemisphere where winter solstice or the shortest days of the year are between 21st December and 22nd December. The people saw the sun as a god and during winter, the god had become sick and weak and they, therefore, celebrated the solstice to rejoice the getting better of their god.
The modern Christmas trees in Germany
Before you buy artificial Christmas Trees in Melbourne, it is better you understand their history. The modern Christmas tree came into being in the 16th century when Christians in Germany started bringing trees to their homes and decorating them. Originally, they decorated the trees with apples, roses, wafers, sweetmeats and tinsels, which the Germans invented eventually.
By the 18th century, the Christmas tree became popular in Germany and people in Rhineland started using wax candles to illuminate them. In the early 19th century, people started using the tree to express the German culture, especially from the individuals who migrated to other countries.
The queen makes it fashionable
In the year 1846, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, her German husband appeared in London News standing around a Christmastime tree with their kids. The family was popular with the queen’s subjects and therefore the tree became popular in Britain and America.
The tree welcomed in America
In the late 19th century, the popularity of the Christmas tree grew rapidly in America and in Europe. Today, the United States is home to one of the widely celebrated Christmas tree, The Rockefeller Centre Christmas Tree. The tradition started in the year 1931 when construction workers placed a small-undecorated tree at the centre of the construction site. Around two years later, people placed another tree on the spot but this time it featured lights that fairy twinkled. Today, the gigantic Rockefeller Centre tree has 25,000 Christmas lights. It has remained an iconic site in the United States.
The Christmas tree lights
There are several stories relating to the person who created the first electric Christmas Tree Lights strings. In the year 1880, Thomas Edison decided to put some of the electric light bulbs that he had just invented around his office. In the year 1882, Edward Johnson (a colleague of Edison) hand-strung 80 white, red and blue bulbs together and placed them on a tree in his apartment in New York.
In the year 1890, Edison Company published brochures offering the lighting services for Christmas time. In the year 1900, Edison placed another advert offering bulbs, which people could rent together with the lighting systems for use during Christmas. However, people could not use the lights because electricity was not available in most homes. Only the rich people who could afford to pay the $300, which more than $2000 today, went for them. In 1903, the cost of electric Christmas strings was $12.
