Christmas tree trimming: where the tradition began
Trimming the tree wasn't always about ornaments at all. Early German households decorated fir branches with apples, nuts and paper roses long before glass baubles existed — the tree itself was the gift, dressed with whatever the season had to offer.
From candlelight to string lights
Small wax candles, clipped carefully to the branches, were the first tree lights — beautiful, and famously risky. Electric string lights arrived in the 1880s and slowly replaced the open flame, freeing families to trim the tree earlier and leave it lit longer.
The trim becomes a tradition
As glass ornaments spread in the late 1800s, trimming the tree turned into an annual ritual rather than a one-time decoration. Families started keeping ornaments from year to year — the first step toward the keepsake collections so many of us build today.
However you trim yours this year, the tradition is the same one that's been passed down for well over a century: gather what you love, and hang it with care.
