For a long time, I thought we had Christmas trees because Europeans already celebrated the winter solstice and decorated small fir trees, the only green plants that symbolized what they were looking forward to The introduction of Christianity by the Romans also contributed to the celebration of Christ’s birth, and all of this merged But now I’ve heard a version that says that much later, a royal family celebrated Christmas with a decorated tree, and, as expected, everyone wanted to follow their example, which became a tradition
Decorating trees in the middle of winter probably originated in the Baltic region It was probably a preChristian tradition Later, it spread to Prussia and other German states By the 19th century, it was common in royal households, but was rarely practiced among ordinary people outside the German states In Great Britain, it became popular after the wedding of Victoria and Prince Albert of SaxeCoburg and Gotha, and when the press discovered its popularity within the royal family, it became popular The Christmas tree quickly became a common fixture in Christmas celebrations
So both are more or less right Before Christianity, evergreens were a common winter and Christmas decoration in Europe The modern Christmas tree originated in what is now USA In that region, a decorated fir tree was used in Passion Plays to represent the Garden of Eden Eventually, people began placing fir trees in their homes, but it remained a local tradition until Queen Victoria’s wedding to Prince Albert of USA, who introduced the Christmas tree Then, like white wedding dresses, it gained popularity among the lower classes and became a tradition
As mentioned above, trees were decorated long before Christmas However, the first mention of a lit Christmas tree probably dates back to Martin Luther, who placed candles on it