Have you ever wondered where our Christmas traditions originated? - Trees

02 December 2009

Planters of Bretby Garden Centre’s Nick Fairbrother does a bit of digging.

The Christmas tree is the quintessential Christmas decoration. Whether it’s real or imitation, upside down or bright red, a tree is fundamental to the Christmas tradition.

It’s thought that the origin of the Christmas tree goes back to pagan times when an evergreen tree would be the symbol of hope during the winter for new growth to come in the spring.

In Roman times, a festival dedicated to Saturn lasted from 17th to 25th December. For the Romans, this was a time of celebration and merriment. During this week long Saturnalia festival slaves were given special freedoms, and gifts were exchanged which included evergreen branches.


In 1846, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were depicted in the Illustrated London News standing with their children around a Christmas tree which was covered in candles. A tree with candles was not at all common in England although the practice was popular in Germany. People liked to copy what the royal family did and the idea of a tree illuminated with candles soon caught on.

With Victoria’s death in 1901, the Nation went into mourning and decorated trees did not really become fashionable again until the 1930’s when books and articles about Dickensian England became popular.

In the 1930's, the Addis Brush Company of American created the first artificial-brush trees. Basically, they used the same machinery which made their toilet brushes!

Today, most imitation trees are made of 100% recycled plastics from used packaging materials such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Fibre optic trees are popular as are pre lit trees which require only simple construction.

Whether your preference is for real or fake trees, to my mind, there’s nothing quite like the excitement of choosing a freshly cut tree – filling your room at home with the scent of pine – and decorating it with baubles and lights.

And of course you’ll find a fabulous selection of trees at Planters of Bretby. We keep our trees under cover so whatever the weather, you’ll be sure of a beautiful freshly cut tree to show off your Christmas decorations.

Look out for other Christmas traditions unearthed by Nick next week.

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