Christmas Tree Decorations

Christmas is the occasion for a thousand customs. It is the time for prayers, caroling, feasting and of course, beautiful Christmas tree decorations.

One of the favorite pastimes

Decorating the Christmas tree with lights and ornaments is one of the favorite pastimes for most people. For kids, it is a fun-filled tradition. For adults, it is a few steps back to innocence.

The sixteenth century

Decorating Christmas trees is supposed to have started in Germany in the sixteenth century. It was at this time when religious Christians living in Germany brought trees into their homes. They decorated these beautifully and kept it indoors for their celebrations.

Christmas tree decoration in England

With time, the tradition spread to other countries of Europe. In 1841, the royal family of England did something that instantly popularized the tradition of decorating Christmas trees. Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband, put up a fully decorated Christmas tree on display at the Windsor Castle. This tree was decorated with different sweets and fruits, candles and gingerbread. After this, many rich families in England began to display their own decorated Christmas trees. The custom became more and more popular with each passing year.

Christmas tree decoration in America

The tradition came to America sometime in the 1830s. Some German settlers in Pennsylvania displayed a fully decorated Christmas church to raise funds for a local church. But decorating Christmas tree was not viewed well by many devout Christians. In 1851, a tree set up outside a church in a parish was removed after some people protested that decorating Christmas trees was an anti-Christian act.

In spite of this, many loved the custom of Christmas tree decorations. The tradition continued to grow in popularity. By the 1890s, many people had started decorating Christmas trees. This was helped by the fact that Germany had started exporting Christmas ornaments to the U.S.

Christmas tree decoration in the twentieth century

During the early years of the twentieth century, many Americans had started decorating their trees with ornaments. Many of these were homemade items.

Electrically decorated Christmas tree

With the discovery of electricity, electric lights also began to be used on Christmas trees. It was Edward H. Johnson, an assistant to inventor Thomas Alva Edison, who used electric lights on Christmas trees for the first time. In 1895, U.S President Grover Cleveland put up the first electrically decorated Christmas tree in the White House. But it was only in the 1930s that the common people began to use electric bulbs on their Christmas trees. The tradition has been popular ever since.

If you are looking for ideas for Christmas tree decoration, here are some Christmas tree decoration tips to help you out.

Christmas tree decoration ideas

Lights

LED lights, incandescent light bulbs and bubble lights are some of the lights that you can use on your Christmas tree. Many also use neon lights. But LED lights are more long-lasting and save a lot of energy.

Ornaments

Little teddy bears, angels, ribbons, stars and fruits like berries are great to use on your Christmas tree.

Shining ornaments

Tiny silver bells, little glass balls and small colorful paper stars make for lovely shining Christmas ornaments.

Christmas Tree Decorations are one of the loveliest parts of Christmas celebrations. Hope you can kick off your Christmas celebrations with a nicely decorated Christmas tree of your own.