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The beginning of December heralds the start of winter. Although the temperatures may be dropping, spirits are rising as a certain holiday is almost upon us. Despite the fact many shops are lavishly decorated for the festive season in November, this weekend is the time many of us look to decorate our homes and up to eight million of us will be buying a Christmas tree. 

So how did the tradition of decorating a tree indoors start? Way before trees were brought indoors and decorated, trees outdoors were adorned with strips of coloured cloth each winter. It was believed when trees lose their leaves, the spirits living in the trees disappear. Without tree spirits, it was thought the leaves would not grow again so the trees were decorated to encourage the spirits to return to spring.  

The tradition of decorating evergreens inside at Christmas started around the beginning of the 1600s and in 1800, George III’s German-born wife, Charlotte, introduced a Christmas tree at a party she gave for children. The custom of decorated trees remained very much within the royal family until Queen Victoria’s marriage to Prince Albert. By 1841, the custom had become more widespread but only by the wealthier middle-class families. It wasn’t until the mid-1920s that Christmas trees started appearing in more homes. 

Christmas trees were not put up and decorated until Christmas Eve or on the first day of Christmas – 23 December. It’s considered bad luck to have your Christmas tree up after Twelfth Night so most of them get taken down on 5 or 6 January. 

If you’re planning to put up decorations this weekend, it may not be the singing reindeer that are causing new TV interference – there’s a small chance it may be due to mobile signal upgrades. We’re here to help – contact us on 0808 13 13 800 (free from UK landlines and mobiles).