Cicely Mary Barker's Christmas Tree Fairy

The little Christmas Tree was born
And dwelt in open air;
It did not guess how bright a dress
Some day its boughs would wear;
Brown cones were all, it thought, a tall
And grown-up Fir would bear.

O little Fir! Your forest home
Is far and far away;
And here indoors these boughs of yours
With coloured balls are gay,
With candle-light, and tinsel bright,
For this is Christmas Day!

A dolly-fairy stands on top,
Till children sleep; then she
(A live one now!) from bough to bough
Goes gliding silently.
O magic sight, this joyous night!
O laden, sparkling tree!

The origins of our Christmas tree traditions can be traced back thousands of years. Shamans used branches of evergreens in their winter lodges and in ritual. Druid priests and priestesses decorated trees in celebration of the winter solstice. Star-topped trees are thought to have originated with the Romans, who decorated trees with ornaments and crowned them with a symbol of their sun god in celebration of Saturnalia.  More similar to our own holiday trees were the "Paradise" trees, firs, that were decorated to celebrate the feast of Adam & Eve on December 24th.

The use of evergreen trees in connection with celebrating the Christ mass at the winter solstice is believed to have originated in Germany in the 1500's. Charles Minnegerode, a German immigrant, is fondly remembered for having introduced the custom in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1842.