Why do we bother with Christmas trees?

The closest thing we have to a native Christmas tree is the often broccoli-shaped Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris). But the Norwegian spruce (Picea abies) is the classic Christmas tree. Despite it being present in Britain during the last interglacial period, it is not considered native. It did not return to Britain after the most recent thaw, waiting instead for human assistance in the 16th century. And it wasn’t until 1841, when Prince Albert brought a Norwegian spruce across from the European mainland to remind him of Christmas in Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, that the Christmas tree became a traditional part of our celebrations.

The early Vikings also placed a tree at the centre of their midwinter festivities. I’m currently shooting Netflix’s Vikings: Valhalla
and it has focused my attention on Viking tree worship. The Viking midwinter festival Jóloblót celebrated the rebirth of the Sun. It later became known as Yule. Central to these celebrations was a ‘Yule tree’ and ‘Yule log’.