Did the Victorians invent the Christmas tree?

Answer 1

No.

Christmas trees were first used as decorations, in fact, at first, they were not associated with Christmas at all. The trees were used in a country called Livonia, which is now today known as Latvia, in the 1440's. The trees were used in guilds, schools and apprentice halls and were decorated with sweets and treats for the apprentices and children to help themselves to if they did well in their studies.

The treats would include apples, oranges, nuts, dates, boiled sweets, shaped sweets and so on.

It's then believed that people also erected these trees and decorated them with sweets and treats during national holidays, including Christmas, as a treat for people, particularly children. Candy canes and chocolates are still used as decoration on Christmas trees today.

The popularity of this tradition spread across the world by travelling and migrating Livonians, particularly in north-Western Europe.

The modern tradition of using the trees for Christmas traditions originated from Germany in the late 17th century, where the tree tradition became popular with the rich protestants. In fact, the only thing that converted the trees from "decoration" to "Christmas tree" was simply adding an angel or star on top, to represent the Bethlehem star or the angel who informed Mary about her pregnancy.

Aside from that, there is no difference between Christmas trees and Livonian decoration/treat trees.

The trees only became known in England when one was given to King George III in the early 19th century as a gift from the German Royal Family. So that would be the Georgian era, not the Victorian era.

However at this time they were only used by the Royal Family and the rich, since only the rich could afford treats for the trees.

However, the popularity spread even further when Queen Victoria married Prince Albert, a German.

Queen Victoria loved the trees so much from her childhood that she and Albert encouraged more to be planted in England, so "the common folk can enjoy the same wonders at Christmas time". This is where the modern-day decorations came from, because the poorer people could not afford treats, they instead decorated the trees with paper decorations, glitter and hand-crafted balls or figurines.

So, your answer is no, the Victorians did not invent the Christmas tree.

• The trees originated from Livonia, which is modern-day Latvia, but they were treat trees, not Christmas trees.
• When they found their way to Germany, the rich protestants added a star or angel on top of the trees to represent Jesus's birth at Bethlehem.
• And then the trees were imported to England from Germany as a gift to King George III, later spread by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.