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A big thank you to everyone who help decorate our Church. Our theme was Christmas Trees. We had over 40 trees in total. Thank you to everyone who took part. (Click on each picture for a larger version.) A Brief History of the Christmas Tree The oldest record of a decorated Christmas tree came from a 16O5 diary found in Strasbourg. It was decorated with paper roses, apples and sweets. Having started in Germany, the tradition of the Christmas tree spread throughout Europe. The British royal family introduced the idea to England when Queen Charlotte (wife of George III) had the first tree in 1800. The young Princess Victoria recorded her delight with the Christmas tree at Kensington Palace in 1832. Prince Albert often wrongly credited with having bought the tradition to Britain, and Queen Victoria were responsible for popularising the Christmas tree when they posed with their children for a Christmas press picture in 1848. The image was first published in the London Illustrated News. The following year, leading society hostesses void with each other to produce the most lavishly decorated tree. The general population soon followed suit. Early Christmas trees were usually decorated with apples, nuts, gingerbread, ribbons and candles. Tinsel and glass balls were manufactured in large numbers in Germany at the end of the 19th century and exported to the UK and America. The invention of electricity made the Christmas tree even more popular and the first mass produced electric Christmas tree lights appeared in 1890. After the death of Queen Victoria, there was a lull in the popularity of the Christmas tree but it had revived by the 1930s during World War II. It was forbidden to cut down trees for decoration so people made their own and just cut off a fir tree branch. After the war the custom became strong again and has never looked back. In the UK we now in 2025 buy 8 million trees each year. |
Flowers in St Peter's Church, Willersey for Christmas 2025 and New Year 2026. |
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