Nothing says it's Christmas time more than a festively dressed Christmas tree but where did the tradition originate from?
There are many references to the worship of trees throughout history and once again we most probably have our pagan ancestors to thank for the tradition.
The Pagans would bring evergreen branches into their homes to symbolise the coming of the spring during the Winter Solstice.
The Vikings and the Saxons were big fans of worshiping trees. The Romans used to decorate their temple to Saturn with fir tree boughs to represent everlasting life around the time of December and also partook in gift giving ceremonies.
The Germans claim to be the first to bring in a tree in the traditional Christmas sense that we do today. The 24th of December was celebrated as 'Adam and Eve' day and there was a 'Miracle' play that was performed around it. They would bring in a 'pyramid' tree (often just branches) and place apples and other offerings on it to represent the tree in the garden of Eden. This was used to teach people, many of whom could not read, about religion.
It was in the early 16th century that it became symbol of status among the elite in Germany to have a Christmas tree in the house. This however was before electricity and so it was common to light candles among the branches and actually became a massive fire hazard during this time.
It was not until the 1920's that it became a mainstay in peoples houses in Ireland, now that it has it is most definitely here to stay and is a much loved part of Christmas.
The decorations of the Christmas tree have been very varied over the years. Everything from ostrich feathers to flour paste wafers have been used. The classic Christmas glass bauble was documented as being imported from Germany in the 1890's and the gingerbread figures were also a mainstay around this time.
It was 1882 that the first electric lights were used on a tree. This was in New York where Edward Johnson, a friend of Thomas Edison (the inventor of the light bulb), lit up a tree at their company.
Now we have a multitude of decorations and lights to choose from as well as many different types of tree.
If you choose to go with the classic natural tree (available in store) sometimes it can be a challenge to keep it from losing all its needles before Christmas day. A good tip to keep your tree healthy is to immerse it in about 2" of water with a small amount of feed such as trusty tomato fertiliser or houseplant liquid feed. You will need to keep topping it up every few days but it should stop the majority of the shedding.
After Christmas you can compost your tree. Christmas trees are perfect for putting at the bottom of a compost pile to increase air flow. Simply strip off the branches to make them more manageable and stack them on top of each other.
There are wonderful artificial trees now also which if you take care of can be used every year and so are also a winner for the environment. We have a great assortment here in Kennedy's Home and Garden such as the Eastwood Spruce 7ft or the Imperial Pine Pre-Lit tree which will even take away the hassle of having to find lights!
We also have a fantastic array of decorations such as The Infinity Star Light to place on top of your tree and the Aqua Glitter Bauble there are just too many to mention here but come into us and check out our festive feel!!
Sophie x
