AlthoughitisgenerallyagreedthattheChristmastreeinitscurrentformcamefromGermanyintheearly19thcentury，thetraditionofdecoratingatreetomarkwintercelebrationsdatesbackhundredsofyearstoRomantimes，whentheyusedtodecorateevergreentreeswithsmallpiecesofmetaltocelebrateSaturnalia。
Inmedievaltimesthe‘ParadisePlay‘wasperformedeveryyearon24December。ThisdepictedthecreationofManandthefallofAdamandEvefromtheGardenofEdenandalwaysincludedanevergreenhungwithappleswhichrepresentedtheappletreeoftemptation。
ThereisalegendthatStBoniface，anEnglishmonk，cameuponagroupofpagansgatheredaroundanoaktreewhowerepreparingtosacrificeachildtotheGodThor。Inordertostopthesacrifice，andsavethechild‘slife，StBonifaceissaidtohavefelledthetreewithoneblowofhisfist。Lateron，afirtreegrewinplaceoftheoakandthis，StBonifacetoldthepagans，wastheTreeofLifeandrepresentedtheChristChild。
Legendalsosuggeststhat，inthelate16thcentury，MartinLuther(thefounderoftheProtestantreligion)wasthefirsttodecorateanindoortreewithcandleswhenheattemptedtorecreatethestarsshiningoveraforestofevergreens。
Thefirstmentionofdecoratedtreesbeingtakenindoorscamein1605inGermany-acountrywithalongChristmastreehistory!Thetreeswereinitiallydecoratedwithfruitandsweetstogetherwithhandmadeobjectssuchasquilledsnowflakesandstars。GermanChristmasMarketsbegantosellshapedgingerbreadsandwaxornamentswhichpeopleboughtassouvenirsofthefairandtookhometohangontheirtree。
TinselwasalsoinventedinGermanyinabout1610。Upuntilfairlyrecentlyrealsilverwasused，whichwaspulledintowaferthinstripsbyspecialmachines。Thiswasdurablebuttarnishedquicklyandmmanyexperimentstookplacetotryandfindanalternative-includingamixofleadandtin，whichwastooheavyandkeptbreaking。Itwasonlyinthemid20thcenturythataviablealternativewasfound。
Artificialtreeswereinventedinthe1880‘sinabidtotryandstopsomeofthedamagebeingcausedtorealtreesduetopeopleloppingthetipofflargetrees，thuspreventingthetreesfromgrowinganyfurther。ItgotsobadinGermanythatlawshadtobebroughtintopreventpeoplehavingmorethanonetree。
PrinceAlbert，husbandofQueenVictoria，iscreditedwithbeingresponsibleforintroducingthecustomoftheChristmastreetotheBritishpublicbydecoratingthefirstEnglishChristmastreeatWindsorCastlein1841usingcandles，sweets，fruitandgingerbread。
ThepopularityoftheChristmastreegrewinBritainduringthefirsthalfofthe20thcentury，withtreesbecomingbiggerandmoreelaboratelydecoratedwithbells，baublesandtinsel。However，theonsetoftheSecondWorldWarresultedinabanoncuttingdowntreesfordecorationandpeopleresortedtohavingsmall，artificialtabletoptreesbearinghomemadedecorations。ThesewereoftentakendownintotheairraidshelterswhenthesirenssoundedtoprovideabitofChristmascheer!
Thisallchangedfollowingthewar，andlargetreeswereerectedinmanypublicplacestocelebrateChristmas。ThemostfamousoftheseisthetreeinTrafalgarSquare，LondonwhichisanannualgiftfromtheNorwegiangovernmenttogivethanksforthehelptheyreceivedfromBritainduringthewar。