Art of Advent Day 5

By Wiktoria Iwaniak

Christmas supplement to the Illustrated London News, wood engraving, London, 1848.

Image courtesy of Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Decorating the Christmas tree is now a staple family tradition in households across Britain, but have you ever wondered how this came to be? It may come as a surprise that it was actually Queen Victoria and Prince Albert who popularised the idea of having an indoor, ornamented fir tree for the festive season. The concept of the Christmas tree dates back to the 16th century in Germany, and it was first introduced to England by Queen Victoria’s German-born mother, Queen Charlotte, in 1800. However, it was only in 1848 that the tradition came into the mainstream, thanks to an illustration of the royal family standing around a lavishly decorated tree. This wood engraving was featured in the Illustrated London News, which quickly helped popularise the tradition amongst middle-class Victorian families who admired this family-oriented activity.

            While the current royal family may not be as actively engaged with Christmas décor, Victoria and Albert took tree decorating very seriously. The Royal Collection curator Kathryn Jones has previously told the BBC that the couple would bring the tree into Windsor Castle on Christmas Eve, and would decorate it themselves, even lighting the candles and putting gingerbread on the tree. This, in addition to the array of gifts under the tree, suggests that they put all this effort in just for the joy it would bring their children. From then on, in Britain, the Christmas tree has become symbolic of spending quality family time together and getting in the festive spirit with the ones you love the most. Who thought that a mere tree with some ornaments would enamour the country so much to the point that it is now an integral part of our Christmas celebrations.

Bibliography

Foussianes, Chloe. “Where Did Christmas Trees Come From? How Queen Victoria and Prince Albert Made Christmas Trees a Holiday Staple.” Town & Country, December 18, 2018. https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a25619292/queen-victoria-prince-albert-christmas-tree-holiday-tradition/.

Willis, Frances. “The Magic of the Tree.” V&A Blog, December 9, 2020. https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/design-and-society/the-magic-of-the tree?srsltid=AfmBOopl_FWsW0Devvw-XgTdMLFC7cLwSMQbu5U3Ap7Sr4Xk3aWkVI9n.