A Very Vintage Christmas post #4
As I'm sure most of you know, it's officially 19 days til Christmas, as of today.Most people I know have already set up their Christmas trees by now, and if you haven't, odds are you will soon (although, if you're the minority who waits til like, Christmas Eve to set up their tree,that's totally cool, too).
That being said, I thought I would take a little time to do a post all about the history of Christmas trees, etc.Just for fun.
The earliest Christmas trees were put into use in the 15th century, in Eastern European regions like Estonia, Romania, Latvia, etc (and they did not, at the time, look like the above picture).An evergreen tree (sometimes decorated, sometimes not) would be primarily used in outdoor gatherings, kind of like in a town square.There would be alot of dancing, socializing and merriment centered around the tree, and then it would be set on fire later on.
However, the Christmas tree as we know it today, is usually credited to the Germans.Germans used evergreen "Trees of Paradise" for mystery plays in churches during the Middle Ages.The use of Christmas trees slowly spread outward from the church.They became fairly popular during the 16th century in guild halls, where they would be decorated with candy, sweet pastries, and little gifts for children to collect on Christmas day.From there, they found themselves in houses of the upper class, because, naturally, that's who could afford them.They would traditionally be decorated with things like candles.They became a much more common household item for all the classes during the 1800s.
In the midst of war in the 1700s, the Christmas tree was brought to Canada by Brunswick soldiers.It's said that General Riedesel hosted a Christmas party, and had a tree decorated with candles and fresh fruit.It wasn't until the late 1800's that the tradition of putting up a decorated Christmas tree became popular in America.In fact, a year ago, I went to a historical reenactment of decorating for Christmas in the 1700s, and it was noted that during that time period, it was still considered highly unusual by Americans to have a Christmas tree set up in your home.
From there, it's pretty easy to see how the use of Christmas trees has progressed to the present day.The traditions are pretty much the same.The only major things that have changed are the use of electric lights, rather than candles, and the use of artificial trees as opposed to real ones.
There are still many towns that have Christmas trees that are lit each year, and there are national Christmas trees, too.
Christmas trees are decorated with anything from glass ornaments, candy, lights, tinsel, popcorn,ribbons, etc.
The popular song O Tannenbaum (or in English, O Christmas Tree) has been around since the 1800s.Typically, in America, we just hear it sung in English, but I have found a version that I think is really neat, because it's by Nat King Cole, and is actually sung in German.
Click to listen:
I think that about wraps it up for today.
The next post will be this Thursday, and will be another song for your vintage Christmas playlist.
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And have a very merry and A Very Vintage Christmas!
