- Though trees were used as part of many ancient celebrations, the ancient Romans are credited with first decorating a tree. The Romans decorated trees with small bits of metal during their winter festival of Saturnalia. Saturnalia honored Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture.
- During the middle ages, illiteracy was rampant and communicating messages to the people was difficult. During this time, Christian leaders in Europe used plays to teach about the Christian faith. The paradise tree was used as part of the play teaching about the December 24th celebration of the feast of Adam and Eve. The paradise tree then became a popular home decoration.
- The use of trees in Christmas celebrations has been documented back to the 1500s in Germany. Candles, dolls and other objects were used as tree decorations. German mercenaries and settlers brought their Christmas trees to America during the American Revolution. Christmas trees were not popular in England until Queen Victoria and her German husband Prince Albert had a tree in 1834.
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