In 1800, Queen Charlotte decided to hold a huge Christmas
party for the children of the nobility of Windsor, but instead of decorating
a yew bough as she’d done in years past, she potted a live tree, covered it
with baubles and fruit, and stood it in the middle of the drawing room at
Queen’s Lodge surrounded by presents. “[F]rom the branches of [this tree] hung
bunches of sweetmeats, almonds and raisins in papers, fruits and toys, most
tastefully arranged; the whole illuminated by small wax candles,” wrote Dr.
John Watkins, the Queen’s official biographer, who added that “after the
company had walked round and admired the tree, each child obtained a portion of
the sweets it bore, together with a toy, and then all returned home quite
delighted.”
Actually, the good doctor underestimated the effect the tree
had on the kids. When they arrived at the house on the evening of Christmas Day
and beheld that magical tree aglitter with tinsel and glass, they believed
themselves transported straight to fairyland. Their happiness knew no bounds.
And that’s when and how Christmas trees became the rage in
English upper-class circles, where they formed the focal point at countless
children’s gatherings. Any evergreen would work, including pines and firs. And
all of them were lit by candles, adorned with trinkets and surrounded by piles
of presents.
Trees placed on table tops usually also had either a Noah’s Ark or
a model farm and numerous gaily-painted wooden animals set out among the
presents beneath the branches to add that extra special touch.
By the time Queen Charlotte died in 1818, the Christmas-tree
tradition was firmly established in royal society. And it continued to flourish among
the aristocracy in the decades following her death. But it would be nearly three more decades
before the tradition was adopted by the masses. Ah, but that’s a topic for
another post.
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