3. There was once a monk named St Boniface and he went to chop down an old oak tree. It split into four and in the middle he found a small fir tree. “This little tree shall be our holy tree. It is the tree of peace because our house are made of fir. It is a sign of endless life for its leaves are evergreen. See how it points towards the heavens? Let this be called the tree of the Christ Child. Gather about it, not in the wilderness, but in your homes. There it will be surrounded by loving gifts and rites of kindness.” To this day, this is why the Fir tree is the symbol of Christmas.

4. Long ago people used to decorate trees in winter because they thought the spirits had left them when the leaves fell off. To encourage the spirits to come back, the people used to decorate the trees with strips of materials in bright colours. Every year the leaves grew again and people continued this tradition. Even when the German’s brought fir trees inside they decorated them.

5. Christmas trees became popular in 1841 when Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, brought over a tree from Germany and put it in Windsor Castle. In the Victorian age, Christmas trees were decorated with candles to remind children of the stars in the sky. They decorated the tree with chocolates and sweets. Woolworths were the first store to sell sweet decorations for the Christmas tree in 1880.

6. Famous The most famous Christmas tree in Britain is the one in Trafalgar Square. The tree is a gift from Oslo, Norway, for helping them with the second world war. They give Britain a tree every year. The tree

7. Christmas trees are biodegradable. This means the trunk and branches can be used a mulch for the gardens. When you put the mulch on the garden it helps plants to grow whilst protecting them from cold weather. The mulch stops weeds from coming through the soil. Many people use fake Christmas trees so that real ones don’t have to be chopped down every year. MULCH