Where Christmas Trees Came From.
A slightly improbable tale for Christmas.
by Paul Bilton
Victoria married a thin man called Albert. Albert came from Germany. He brought many German ideas with him to London, but it seems all was not well at the palace. One Christmas, as the snow was gently falling, Albert looked out through the palace windows. He was very sad.
The queen saw him and said "Oh, Albert, please don't be so melancholy. It's Christmas and we all should be happy."
"Ah, Wictoria, Liebling. You do not understand. Here in Britain you have no trees at Christmas"
Queen Victoria was puzzled and she too looked out of the window. "Why Albert," she said wagging her finger in a very royal way "I think you need glasses. The garden is full of trees."
Albert was quick to reply: "Ah, Wictoria, my leetle Dampf-knudel. I mean you don't have Christmas trees in your homes like vee do in Germany."
The queen did not look happy. (This was not unusual.) "Albert, we have been very good to you since you came to my Britain. We spend our holidays in the Black Forest, I let you wear your leather trousers, but not of course in public. Young Prince Edward drives a VW Golf and, why look, even our television is Telefunken."
This did not cheer up Albert at all. And he told the queen how good he was with English food. "I eat your feesh and cheeps, even if zay make me ill. I drink warm beer, and roast beef and Yorkshire Dampf-knudel is my favourite."
"That's Yorkshire pudding" the Queen corrected him.
But, what Albert had said about Christmas trees was true. All over the land, the British celebrated Christmas without a tree. Their Christmas decorations were placed on top of presents on the floor. By tradition, bright-coloured lights were put over the decorations and a star was put on top. The whole heap was not more than forty centimetres high and, although the British would never admit this, the traditional British Christmas heap was not very beautiful.
The Queen said Albert could phone his Uncle, Kaiser Wilhelm, who said he could not imagine how the British could have a Christmas without a tree. A traditional German tree was sent to the palace by express delivery and, thanks to a guaranteed 24 hour service, it arrived in time for Christmas. Albert was very pleased and even Queen Victoria was mildly amused.
Slowly throughout the land, a few British people started to bring trees into their homes at Christmas. But many traditionalist thought the great British Christmas heap was much better than the German tree. Conservative families had no tree and kept their Christmas heap. Progressive families forgot the heap and had a tree. And rich families
had both a tree and a heap.
A British inventor, called George Stevenson, was the man who solved the 'great British Christmas heap or tree debate'. Stevenson was famous for inventing the Rocket. This was not advanced as it sounds and his Rocket was only a train. Nevertheless he was Britain's first rocket scientist.
Stevenson used his all engineering knowledge to place the heap on the tree. And everyone was happy. Rich families suddenly had more room. Traditionalist were delighted that the German tree was under the British heap. And best of all it looked much better than either a heap of decorations on the floor or simple green tree.
George Stevenson was invited to meet their Majesties at the Palace. The Queen was more interested in where Stevenson got the idea for the story 'Dr Jeckle and Mr Hyde' from than the invention of the Christmas tree until George pointed out that was a different Stevenson. This cost him a knighthood.
Today, thanks to Prince Albert, a British Christmas is not complete without a tree. The Prince and the Queen lived a long and generally happy life. Today they can be viewed daily in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Paul Bilton wrote 'Laughing Along with the Swiss' and the 'Xenophobe's Guide to the Swiss'. He also designs and builds websites (including this one).