The Christmas Tree

The words

1. Baubles

   Glass tree ornaments, ordered from Lauscha as ‘Christmas baubles’ by 1848.

   Museum für Glaskunst Lauscha (opens a new tab)

2. Charlotte

   Queen Charlotte, who set up a decorated yew tree for children at Windsor at Christmas 1800.

   Watkins, Memoirs of Her Most Excellent (opens a new tab)

3. Dannhauer

   Johann Konrad Dannhauer, Strasbourg cathedral preacher who criticised the tree in the 1600s.

   Miles, Christmas in Ritual and Tradition (opens a new tab)

4. Godey's

   Godey’s Lady’s Book, the American magazine that reprinted the royal tree picture in 1850.

   American Antiquarian Society (opens a new tab)

5. Gold Foil

   Gold foil hung on the 1605 Strasbourg trees.

   Miles, Christmas in Ritual and Tradition (opens a new tab)

6. Lauscha

   Thuringian glass town, birthplace of glass tree ornaments.

   Museum für Glaskunst Lauscha (opens a new tab)

7. Paper Roses

   Roses cut from many-coloured paper, hung on the 1605 Strasbourg trees.

   Miles, Christmas in Ritual and Tradition (opens a new tab)

8. Prince Albert

   Queen Victoria’s husband, shown with the royal tree in the 1848 picture.

   American Antiquarian Society (opens a new tab) · Miles, Christmas in Ritual and Tradition (opens a new tab)

9. Riga

   Latvian capital that claims a decorated tree of 1510.

   LSM English: Baltic states battle it out (opens a new tab)

10. Silver Nitrate

    Used from 1870 to silver the inside of Lauscha baubles.

    Museum für Glaskunst Lauscha (opens a new tab)

11. Strasbourg

    The city of the 1605 note that gives one of the earliest descriptions of decorated Christmas trees.

    Miles, Christmas in Ritual and Tradition (opens a new tab) · City of Strasbourg: The History (opens a new tab)

12. Tallinn

    Estonian capital that claims a guild tree of 1441 on Town Hall Square.

    LSM English: Baltic states battle it out (opens a new tab)

13. Thuringia

    German region where Lauscha’s glass ornaments are made.

    Museum für Glaskunst Lauscha (opens a new tab)

14. Wafers

    Wafers hung on the fir trees in the 1605 Strasbourg account.

    Miles, Christmas in Ritual and Tradition (opens a new tab)

15. Yew Tree

    The yew set in a tub and hung with sweets, fruit and toys for Queen Charlotte’s party.

    Watkins, Memoirs of Her Most Excellent (opens a new tab)