Our most beloved holiday decoration, the Christmas tree has held a special place in our hearts and homes for more than a century. Through German immigrants brought it to our country as early as the 1700's, most Americans did not abopt the custom until it became popular in Victorian England.
When Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's German husband, decorated an evergreen tree at Christmastime, the Victorians responded by reproducing the splendor of the royal tree in their own homes. It wasn't long before it became fashionable in American as well. With the help of ladies publications of that day, many families spent many countless hours creating decorations for the tree.
Authors, such as Charles Dickens and Hans Christian Anderson, immortalized the Victorian Christmas tree by describing its bounitful branches within the pages of their many well-known writings.