How Christmas trees stopped being just a German thing

Рет қаралды 704,105

Жыл бұрын

It's a local custom that became a worldwide tradition.
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The Christmas tree tradition as we know it today has a long and varied history.
It is believed to have roots in ancient cultures, where trees were decorated as part of celebrations.
In the 1500s and 1600s, the Christmas tree became a Germanic custom, with fir trees being a popular choice.
In the 1840s, the practice of having a Christmas tree in the home became more widespread, thanks in part to the influence of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, who were both of German descent. The Christmas tree also gained popularity in the United States during this time due to a large influx of German immigrants. The tradition was further popularized through the mass media, such as The Illustrated London News, and the publication of Christmas cards and books like Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Today, Christmas trees can be found in homes around the world and can even be spotted from satellite images of Christmas tree farms.
Check out the book where the Christmas tree illustration appeared in America: archive.org/details/godeyslad...
Here’s a short narrative about President Roosevelt’s “banning” of Christmas trees: foresthistory.org/president-b...
You can actually read all of Queen Victoria’s journals online, though it requires a British IP address or academic credentials:
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Пікірлер: 700

@sizanogreen9900 Жыл бұрын

"Oh, Tannenbaum" is still relatively widely sung here in Germany.

@dstr3ss Жыл бұрын

Really... How could that be possible? 😹

@oldrichmarek419 Жыл бұрын

i believe the mellody is a little different?

@AnnaVannieuwenhuyse Жыл бұрын

Same here in Belgium!

@MikeAltogether Жыл бұрын

I've definitely sung both O Tannenbaum and the English version in churches and schools in the US.

@olivenstein Жыл бұрын

Oh Tannenbaum, oh Tannenbaum wie grün sind deine Blätter! Du grünst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit, nein auch im Winter wenn es schneit. Oh Tannenbaum, oh Tannebaum Wie grün sind deine Blätter! 🌲

@stischer47 Жыл бұрын

Along the same line, Germanic tribes believed that spirits lived in trees, so if they were going to cut one, they would knock on the tree beforehand to give the spirit time to find another home. To not knock would bring the ire of the spirit upon you and your family...hence, knock on wood to prevent evil from happening.

@ETS186 Жыл бұрын

Wooooow...a lot of comments are funny, a lot are toxic...and a lot are informative, like yours. Thank you!

@Wotsitorlabart 7 ай бұрын

@@ETS186 But unfortunately in this case completely wrong - absolutely no evidence for that theory at all. The earliest references to 'touching wood' (the UK version of 'knock on wood') are from 1805 and 1828 and probably came from the very well known children's game of the time 'Tiggy-touch-wood', a chasing game where the pursued is safe if he or she touches wood of some sort. There was a chant - "Tiggy, tiggy, touch wood, I've got no wood" to tease the chaser.

@abbikadabie5841 6 ай бұрын

@Wotsitorlabart he isn’t wrong … it only took a quick google? The phrase “knocking on wood” is english, but knocking on trees is a proto Celtic tradition that is preserved in folklore beyond the 1800s. A lot of cultures have a “knocking on wood” related practice.

@kidaria1333 5 ай бұрын

interesting I didn't know that

@casualretrocollector 4 ай бұрын

@@abbikadabie5841that’s very interesting as the original Celtic tribes originated in parts of Germay/Austria

@theowlfromduolingo7982 Жыл бұрын

And the „Adventskranz“ / Advent wreath and the „Adventskalender“ / Advent calendar are also German things in the weeks prior to christmas

@Gpcas9 Жыл бұрын

But you can keep your Krampus. No idea where this came from. Some obscure rite from a bavarian village, was falsly made to a german thing somehow.

@gulliverthegullible6667 Жыл бұрын

@@Gpcas9 Krampus is certainly NOT a thing all over Germany.

@DerMBen Жыл бұрын

@@Gpcas9 It's also a thing in multiple parts of Austria. So while it's not a thing throughout Germany, it's not from 'one village in bavaria' either.

@pablosantanatur9122 Жыл бұрын

Actually the Christmas tree was first decorated in Riga (Latvia) in 1510, way before the original song of O Tannenbaum was written (around 1 century later). It was erected by the guild of merchants, which traveled across Northern Europe (the Hanseatic League). The tree was decorated with natural motives and burnt to honor the god of sun, as a way of praying for the god to heat up the city during the cold winter. As you may know, Germans founded the city of Riga, so it's fair to say that this is a German thing. The truth is it's origin is Baltic.

@gulliverthegullible6667 Жыл бұрын

@@DerMBen it's quite likely that the Krampus spilled over from Austria to Bavaria, so it is not German in origin at all.

@pinkyboy8576 Жыл бұрын

It's really weird to see those old Christmas trees weren't burnt by extensive decorations of lit up candles 🙃

@squdioodellover2589 Жыл бұрын

They were. Sometimes. You have to really careful to not knock them over.

@arianaink100 Жыл бұрын

They often caught on fire to the point that that while queen Victoria did have one with candles other English commoners lost their houses and they had to prohibit it in some places. (Making ornaments to catch sunlight/reflections instead of lights and eventually electric lights replacing candles all together) It’s why tinsel is so popular as a cheap replacement or alternative to expensive decor like glassware

@Faroesx Жыл бұрын

@@arianaink100 Great insight!

@anthonyd-g1993 Жыл бұрын

Idk people put candles on trees every year and it never burns. Only if its an old and dry tree the danger increases which is why people use fresh trees

@MrAronymous Жыл бұрын

It was standard to put a bucket of water next to it.

@nickstanford8588 Жыл бұрын

When you're so American, even in a video about Germany, you still manage to mention Mount Rushmore

@PrivateAccountXSG Жыл бұрын

Youre aware this video is made in America, right?

@RandyMahnke Жыл бұрын

@@PrivateAccountXSG that doesn't change the fact that mt. rushmore has absolutely nothing to do with the topic

@Wanderlauch Жыл бұрын

But also: who cares.

@tubester4567 Жыл бұрын

@@RandyMahnke Did you watch the video? The connection about Mount Rushmore was explained in the video.

@RandyMahnke Жыл бұрын

@@tubester4567 yes I did. There is no connection, it was fabricated. Totally useless

@davitdavid7165 Жыл бұрын

This is the first time I have heard adults sing tannenbaum.

@ThierryVerhoeven Жыл бұрын

South Park once had a Christmas themed episode in which it was performed by none other than holly jolly Adolf Hitler. 🎅🏻 I guess that counts as being sung by an adult…

@ardaduck735 Жыл бұрын

Same here, sounds cool though

@tammygant4216 Жыл бұрын

I've heard adults sing it several times.....but I grew up in Germany so that's probably why :)

@MathiasBacher Жыл бұрын

But they didn't play a nice version of it 🤔

@AlexanderBlues1228 Жыл бұрын

Nat Cole performed it in German and English on his Christmas album.

@DM-br7vt Жыл бұрын

The Victorian era really was such an influential era

@user-lr6hw4dq4t Жыл бұрын

Yess. My favorite era

@anthonygordon9483 Жыл бұрын

Its a era you see even today with clothing, furniture, etc. Even parts of the white house is still decorated with Victorian era furniture to some what preserve the look of the house that its always been for a century.

@greghuffman3061 Жыл бұрын

My favorite is the attitude era. 2 middle fingers up for lord stone cold steve austin

@stevenbenhamouche8393 Жыл бұрын

Everyone loves the Victorian era and it’s flavour of colonialism 😮‍💨

@maximus8574 Жыл бұрын

@@stevenbenhamouche8393 no one was talking about colonialism

@LorDragon Жыл бұрын

A rather unknown fact : The first appearance of a Christmas tree in North America, with its branches decorated with fruits and lit with candles, goes way back to 1781 in the town of Sorel (now Sorel-Tracy) in Quebec, Canada in the historical building that is now known as "La maison des gouverneurs" (The Governors House), by german baroness Riedsel when she hosted a Christmas party for British and German officers.

@majrminer Жыл бұрын

Cite your source.

@TheGlitchRoom Жыл бұрын

@@majrminer It was revealed to them in a dream.

@bluecheesybob Жыл бұрын

@@majrminer You work as a college professor? Why are you intent on getting a source in such an inconsequential forum?

@patriciosolorzano5737 Жыл бұрын

@@majrminer You can just search for it if you dont trust the info. The story is easy to find.

@adriendauphinais1200 Жыл бұрын

I worked at the local museum one summer, and we had a room dedicated to that house and that story. Also that house still exists, it's now the local visitor center as well as an art gallery!

@eksiarvamus Жыл бұрын

The first public Christmas trees were placed by German merchant guilds in Livonia in what are modern Tallinn, Estonia and Riga, Latvia. There are records of such public trees from as early as 1441.

@niclasavasjo788 Жыл бұрын

Yes this videos is so overly simplified that it becomes comical, but I guess the title is "How Christmas trees stopped being just a German thing" so they are maybe trying to stay on topic and keep it short I guess: God Jul!

@fatboyRAY24 Жыл бұрын

If you wanna be technical, Evergreens were first used during the winter solstice in ancient Egypt and Rome for pagan traditions that would later be replaced with the birth of christ out of convenience, only much much later would Germans appropriate this ancient tradition.

@pablosantanatur9122 Жыл бұрын

Absolutely true! Actually the Christmas tree was first decorated in Riga (Latvia) in 1510, way before the original song of O Tannenbaum was written (around 1 century later). It was erected by the guild of merchants, which traveled across Northern Europe (the Hanseatic League). The tree was decorated with natural motives and burnt to honor the god of sun, as a way of praying for the god to heat up the city during the cold winter. As you may know, Germans founded the city of Riga, so it's fair to say that this is a German thing. The truth is it's origin is Baltic.

@eksiarvamus Жыл бұрын

@@pablosantanatur9122 the first instance is known to have been in Tallinn though in 1441. :)

@bishplis7226 Жыл бұрын

there was no germany in 1441, therefore, no germans.

@Luboman411 Жыл бұрын

I always thought it was Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (from the heavily-forested German state of Thuringia) who was the one who brought the Christmas tree tradition to England. You didn't bridge the gap, though, between Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria's dad was a son of Charlotte, the Duke of Kent. So the Duke knew and probably approved of the Christmas tree tradition. However, her mother was also a German--Princess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Again, from the northern regions of Germany. So the Christmas tree tradition was further reinforced by Queen Victoria's very German mother.

@gitgut4977 Жыл бұрын

Greetings from Coburg by a direct Descendant of His Brother :)!

@joaoalbertodosanjosgomes1536 Жыл бұрын

Amen.

@pablosantanatur9122 Жыл бұрын

@horstuwe3099 Жыл бұрын

If I got it right, it was actually mentioned. There was a part in the video about Charlotte's granddaughter Victoria marrying her cousin Albert from Germany et cetera er cetera.

@SlickSpeedy Жыл бұрын

@@pablosantanatur9122 what’s being discussed in this thread isn’t, however, it’s origin, but the way I’m which the tradition found it’s way to England, and thus spread throughout the Anglosphere.

@ergosteur Жыл бұрын

That Charlotte/Mecklenburg ending 👌

@eges72 Жыл бұрын

Fun fact: Decorating pine trees as "Christmas Trees" is a tradition that originates all the way back to the Bronze Age, where Hittites decorated pine trees with various "ornaments" from walnut shells to sacks full of barley grains to celebrate the equinox season as "rebirth of nature," their holy day. Equinoxes are celebrated by some people to this day in Turkey.

@benja_mint Жыл бұрын

If we're talking about Christmas, do you mean winter solstice rather than equinox?

@phobosex7504 Жыл бұрын

Fun fact: christmas didnt exist untill long after the bronze age

@benja_mint Жыл бұрын

@@phobosex7504 which is why he used the quotation marks

@phobosex7504 Жыл бұрын

@@benja_mint ok

@benja_mint Жыл бұрын

@@phobosex7504 Christmas trees as we call them today have only been around for ~300 years but evergreen trees have long been a symbol of life and brought inside the homes to celebrated the winter solstice going back a long long way. Whether the whole way back to the bronze Age, I don't know.

@Thebreakdownshow1 Жыл бұрын

It’s hard to be believe that at one point people didn’t have trees in their houses.

@bobbyjohnson1738 Жыл бұрын

@Zaydan Alfariz with all due respect that’s a subjective point of view. I’d rather wear cowboy boots, jeans, and a camouflage hat. Capitalism breeds a more diverse set of cultures

@samsonsoturian6013 Жыл бұрын

It's hard to believe at one point people used real trees and real candles in their houses.

@scholargnome Жыл бұрын

As far as I know, a lot of Christian cultures in the tropics used to never have Christmas trees inside their homes during Christmas. Christmas lights and garlands were the norm. I think that this is still the norm in many Christian families in the tropics.

@scholargnome Жыл бұрын

@Zaydan Alfariz They do sell plastic ones, but they're such an expensive decor only to be used one month of the year. It's not really practical. The closest alternative is just decorating the real trees outside your house.

@megamastah Жыл бұрын

@Zaydan Alfariz Right, comrade. You are free to move to Cuba or North Korea.

@kayburcky7146 Жыл бұрын

In the Contemporary version of "oh Tannenbaum" it's not "how faithful are your leaves" but "how green are your leaves"

@eyesofthecervino3366 Жыл бұрын

Yeah. It's sad how much can get lost in translation

@francisdavecabanting4453 Жыл бұрын

“It’s cold this month. Let’s cut some trees to warm the world”

@Benjiefrenzy Жыл бұрын

I live in Lunenburg County in Nova Scotia. It is called the Balsam Fir Christmas Tree capital of the world because of all the tree farms around here. There was a lot of German immigration here in the late 1700s and along with the German name of the county, it's fitting that there are a lot of tree farms here.

@SD-ed8is Жыл бұрын

I had never expected to hear Mecklenburg mentioned in a Vox video, being from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern myself.

@z50schild Жыл бұрын

Dutch: Oh denneboom, oh denneboom, wat zijn uw takken wonderschoon.

@samsonsoturian6013 Жыл бұрын

It's funnier if you let Google translate

@sebastiangruenfeld141 Жыл бұрын

This sounds atrocious.

@lauriensnijers2322 Жыл бұрын

ik heb uw laatst in het bos zien staan, toen hongen er nog geen lichtjes aan

@tammygant4216 Жыл бұрын

loved the connection from Charlotte to Charlotte at the end. Fun.

@zoso25 Жыл бұрын

Today I realised that my operating systems book was written by a fir tree

@Blex_040 Жыл бұрын

Yes! I studied computer science in Germany and it was quite the odd name for such a book xD

@krysnb84 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for this Phil, its very interesting how German culture is super intertwined with American culture (never thought of it but like burgers and hot dogs which are considered so USA also came from German culture and we just don’t think about it) - merry christmas and happy holidays!

@Luboman411 Жыл бұрын

The same with the love of beer, microbreweries, beer gardens and the like. Budweiser and Anheuser-Busch are both very German names after all. That being said, German culture is not as celebrated in America as Irish or Italian or even Polish culture because of the vehement anti-German sentiment in the U.S. during WWI. Which then got worse in WWII. So German-Americans have kept their cultural contributions to the U.S. very much under wraps. They didn't want to suffer a nasty backlash.

@uitham Жыл бұрын

"cookies" comes from the dutch word of "koekjes". they were introduced in new york which has big dutch roots.

@joaoalbertodosanjosgomes1536 Жыл бұрын

Thank you very much.

@seeburgm100a Жыл бұрын

Let's not forget that English is basically a Germanic Language..

@ItchyKneeSon Жыл бұрын

Not to mention the English language!

@unvergebeneid Жыл бұрын

Funny though that the tradition of having a Christmas tree and putting the presents around it made it to the anglo-saxon world but not the tradition of opening them on Christmas eve instead of the 25th.

@MrDukeSilverr Жыл бұрын

As far as I know the British royal family actually opens their presents on Christmas Eve, due to the German heritage

@grapefruitzulu Жыл бұрын

Sure thats why the Christmas tree became popular in our culture but why did the kings of Christmas (Germany) start hauling trees into their homes. I was hoping for that answer.

@galador8089 Жыл бұрын

Probably it has its roots in pagan culture but i dont know either

@olafsigursons Жыл бұрын

part of Yule tradition.

@okmarshall Жыл бұрын

@@olafsigursons Yes we know it's tradition. But why? What started the tradition, what is the symbolism?

@kaitlyn__L Жыл бұрын

Another commenter here says “tree cults” were just a big thing all round in Germany since forever. They say a tree struck by lightning was “blessed by Thor”, and every tree species apparently had its own properties/spirit. They don’t explain what the fir tree supposedly did, but it can be inferred the spirit it had was supposed to help with midwinter hardship.

@kadmii Жыл бұрын

according to tradition, Saint Boniface, when he came to convert the Germans to Christianity, cut down a revered oak tree to demonstrate that Thor had no power over him. From next to the stump of the oak, a fir tree (which, unlike the oak tree, stays green throughout winter and thus is a year-round symbol of life) sprouted up. Contrary to popular belief, it was the oak tree (not the evergreen) that was revered by the Germanic pagan tribes, and these were special trees in special groves left outside and untouched, because cutting them down was seen as sacrilegious. The elevation of evergreens to a highly-prized status is a development of and by Germanic Christians, and they're the ones who started placing trees inside and into public squares during Advent.

@akashdeb5201 Жыл бұрын

This feels such a wholesome episode.....

@karensiahaan8833 Жыл бұрын

This video is so clever, so beautifully thought and written. Thank you for gracing us this on Christmas, Vox!

@samsonsoturian6013 Жыл бұрын

The German custom comes from German paganism. "Tree cults" we call them, where given trees were said to have exotic properties (I.E. a tree that survives a lighting strike was "blessed by Thor"). Tree cults were still being discovered in Germany in the late 18th century.

@hulagu3068 Жыл бұрын

Humans have such a strong connection with trees probably because human ancestors used to live in them.

@samsonsoturian6013 Жыл бұрын

@@hulagu3068 We all use to live around them, anyway. Urban life is the exception in human civilization, not the norm.

@BakrAli10 Жыл бұрын

Bookmark comment later

@valwhatever5409 Жыл бұрын

You have a source for that ?

@alfrancisbuada2591 Жыл бұрын

Merry Christmas to you all! And thank you for informing me of this.

@RyanSoltani Жыл бұрын

This was a nicely wrapped video, clear, concise, and to the point. Great job Vox

@vladyslavdiumin4124 Жыл бұрын

Always enjoying Vox's videos! Thank you!

@thousanduniverses Жыл бұрын

Regarding the waste of Christmas trees. In the German countryside the used Christmas trees are getting collected by the youths in the middle of January every year and stacked in a specific place (mostly on a hill). When Eastern comes around the trees and other old branches etc. are getting stacked up to a big heap. Many people are coming together around the heap, which then gets lit up around 9pm on either Friday/Saturday or Sunday (every village has their specific day) for the Osterfeuer (easter fire) celebration. In this way they are used twice for celebrations.

@reonsylvester719 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for this story. Amazing

@Takeshi_Kovacs7 Жыл бұрын

That last line was perfection. Bet you were very happy when you found that piece :D

@herrsan Жыл бұрын

Oh Tannenbaum

@klamin_original Жыл бұрын

It’s not really surprising that German traditions sooner or later found their way into American culture since Germans are still the largest group of ancestors by country in the US (the UK is a union of countries). Up to this day a lot of typically American traditions were originally German or influenced by Germans

@redsharktooth22 Жыл бұрын

Well, up until 1870 germany was also not really a thing... But there sure is some German influence in American traditions

@evilofparadise Жыл бұрын

@@redsharktooth22 a German nation-state didn’t exist sure, but Germany, the German nation, certainly did.

@xxklesx1 6 ай бұрын

@@redsharktooth22 The Holy Roman Empire lasted 1000 years. And from the 15th century onwards it had the suffix “German Nation”. The German Empire, which was founded in 1870, was not called the “Second Empire” for nothing. And that didn't unite all Germans either. Austria was independent because they decided against uniting all German states ("Kleindeutsche Lösung" Little German solution). The war between Prussia and Austria before the unification was called the German-German war because the two largest German states fought for supremacy over the other german states.

@kordellswoffer1520 6 ай бұрын

The uk is not a union of countries but a union of nations and that itself is largely untrue. Britain is largely a single ethnic group and culture group at this point and for that reason Britain is the largest ethnicity in America especially considering that nost identify as American and they’re mostly old stock Saxons.

@kordellswoffer1520 6 ай бұрын

@@evilofparadiseyeah so does the British nation.

@satyamstark1124 Жыл бұрын

I never understood the phrase "you can see it from space", because you can't. You need telescopes but again that way you can see a lone tree or a person in some cases, will that mean anything special?

@myJOJA Жыл бұрын

Title option: how the Christmas tree, originated from Germany, became an international thing

@beethimbles8801 Жыл бұрын

Brilliant fact for Xmas dinner talk ❤

@siutung8808 Жыл бұрын

what a fascinating story!

@alexhouston Жыл бұрын

Interesting! But we really need to talk about the point of saying “can see from space” if we’re referring to high resolution satellite cameras

@SimonVelazquez Жыл бұрын

Came here to say this too. Bugged me both times it was said.

@Myrtanae Жыл бұрын

Dieser Kommentarbereich ist nun deutsches Eigentum!

@jeyveebidua3833 Жыл бұрын

"They aren't in the Christian Bible." This should be the most important statement one could learn on this video about christmas trees.

@MsEdgely Жыл бұрын

Because Christians adopted a lot of their traditions from the Celts. It was their way of converting people to Christianity. So holidays like Christmas and Easter are linked to Celtic holidays and traditions. Even the Holy Trinity is linked to the Celts.

@amakiethagod5622 Жыл бұрын

@@MsEdgely please expand on the last sentence

@berulan8463 Жыл бұрын

Yep, there are no tannenbaums in the holy land.

@MsEdgely Жыл бұрын

@@amakiethagod5622 The father, son, holy spirit. The Trinity. Celts believed that things of importance came in 3's, which is why they also have the Trinity knot. This was incorporated by Christians as a method to convert Celts to Christianity. Even Holy Water is derived from the Celts, with links to Goddesses - one being Brigid. Look it up.

@derbagger22 Жыл бұрын

Most ideas of pagan belief originate from ancient Babylon and Egypt.

@jespersichlau4343 Жыл бұрын

To be fair, you can technically see everything from space.

@katethegoat7507 Жыл бұрын

I wonder where the tradition to put nativity sets under the tree originates from, then. Or the one to put presents under it.

@samsonsoturian6013 Жыл бұрын

Presents at Christmas didn't come around until roughly 1800.

@guppy0536 Жыл бұрын

Short answer Christians...really any other answer. Shoving their religion down everyone's throats

@lordsiomai Жыл бұрын

Honestly, it feels so weird to know that Christmas Trees are a relatively young Christmas trend

@swunt10 Жыл бұрын

The traditional evergreen tree or at least tree branch in the house during the winter solstice is as old as civilization. It just didn't survive as a tradition everywhere. It's a good thing that germans kept the tradition and it was not completely forgotten. It's probably one of the oldest traditions we humans stills do.

@masterphil3066 Жыл бұрын

Not in Germany

@andrewdunckley Жыл бұрын

It's sad to see how little people actually know about Christmas...

@mtaylorfoofa Жыл бұрын

German Christmas you mean?

@andrewdunckley Жыл бұрын

@@mtaylorfoofa the whole concept,,, the true history behind it,,, not the commercialised thing we see...

@olafsigursons Жыл бұрын

@@oldbeergangster2381 It's just a pretext to gather together, like the lunar new year. I am not capitalist or Christian but Xmass is fun.

@LuukvdHoogen Жыл бұрын

like Easter it's a pagan festival that Christianity sort of integrated. So in my view it's mainly about celebrating the days getting longer and breaking the long dark nights with festivity. And you can add jezus if you like as well.

@Josh-zn4yi Жыл бұрын

How exactly is it sad? I don’t know all the history behind every other religion so why should christianity be an exception?

@N0N0111 Жыл бұрын

Those candles on the tree, such a giant fire hazard.

@johnsteinat5213 Жыл бұрын

Today I learned "Maryland, My Maryland" got the tune from a German song about fir trees

@punkdigerati Жыл бұрын

You do the animation too Phil? That's cool.

@Gpcas9 Жыл бұрын

Great video! Now do the history of the aluminum pole 😛

@BullworthAcademy4 Жыл бұрын

Fun Fact: The hymn of Maryland is the same music from „Oh Tannenbaum“

@eliacelo9956 Жыл бұрын

Hey vox, can you do mistletoe next? What other Christmas plants are you show us next?

@simonbaumbach5169 Жыл бұрын

George III was german as well, his gamily was from Hanover. Thats how they got to marry each other

@JJaqn05 Жыл бұрын

He wasn't German, his distant ancestors came from Germany

@iirainey Жыл бұрын

Victoria was not exposed to the Christmas tree by Charlotte. They did not live in the same palace. Her mother, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg Saalfield (obviously German) would have exposed her to this tradition regardless of Charlotte.

@DiannaCarney Жыл бұрын

Great video!

@TheMasterStratagem Жыл бұрын

You cant see them from space.

@rohwermusicstudios Жыл бұрын

I was hoping someone else would pick up on this. I was going to let it slide, but he said it twice at least. I know it’s meant to sensationalize how big the Christmas tree farms are, but I thought it was kind of silly. In an exaggerated form I would say: “You can see this penny from space!” And then film 2 feet above it “in space”

@josephduckworth2122 Жыл бұрын

This is possibly the best video I’ve seen by Vox. Wonderfully put together!

@RuleroftheWorld Жыл бұрын

Is it me or VOX has had a massive improvement in quality of video

@NostalgicNell Жыл бұрын

Queen Victoria was the ultimate influencer.

@kirandeepchakraborty7921 Жыл бұрын

Nice Recommendation ⭐

@AnalogDave Жыл бұрын

I can spot a Phil video from space.

@xdevantx5870 Жыл бұрын

Answer to title: "Money!" - Mr Krabs.

@dominiclobue Жыл бұрын

Fascinating! I hope you do a video on mistletoe!

@TimeTheory2099 Жыл бұрын

Mistletoe, wreaths and sacred trees are from the Druid religion that, at one time covered most of western Europe. Until the Roman legions came.

@crossline7 Жыл бұрын

Great history! What is the song starting to play around 2:28?

@teecanal637 Жыл бұрын

Nowadays you can see everything from space. It's just a matter of good optics in your satellite.

@jonaramire Жыл бұрын

Merry Christmas !

@nekonesto5601 Жыл бұрын

What is this famous Christmas song at the beginning called, can't find it anywhere?

@axolotlhappy2340 Жыл бұрын

Carol of the Bells?

@nekonesto5601 Жыл бұрын

@@axolotlhappy2340 Thanks!!

@BlackWater_49 Жыл бұрын

1:03 "Treu"? I only know that song with "green" which makes a lot more sense considering they remain green year-round.

@Brian-fr9jr Жыл бұрын

the song has multiple versions with slightly different variations

@zafelrede4884 Жыл бұрын

No, treu makes more sense.

@BlackWater_49 Жыл бұрын

@@zafelrede4884 Ok, then please go ahead and explain to me how your relationship with a tree leave works because of how faithful it is... (I do know what you mean, and yes, it's not completely without sense but green still makes more sense than faithful does.)

@eatmoremusic3650 Жыл бұрын

Dang my brain expected a Phil Edwards breakdown after the main video ended

@jameslewis1605 Жыл бұрын

Der klinken thingy? Elfin fertin'

@error13660 Жыл бұрын

What was the music playing at the start of the episode?

@iainronald4217 Жыл бұрын

As soon as I saw this title, I was like "This sounds like a Phil Edwards video" and then I remembered Phil still works for Vox, lol.

@Prophes0r Жыл бұрын

"You can see [X] from space" has become a useless statement in an era where we can resolve a bicycle.

@joaoalbertodosanjosgomes1536 Жыл бұрын

I am blind.

@harshitsingh7945 Жыл бұрын

yo whats the music in the background at the start?? It seems so familiar....

@DK-ng6nd Жыл бұрын

Carol of the bells. Appeared in Home Alone, Santa Clause and loads of other Christmas movies.

@spencermitchell3481 Жыл бұрын

Anyone know whose rendition of Tannenbaum that is?

@opkopoko Жыл бұрын

christmas trees do be goin viral

@andreamercier393 Жыл бұрын

Me, a North Carolinian, only now learning why it's called Mecklenburg county lol

@bigpapadrew Жыл бұрын

more fun facts: the stonians are the first in recorded history to have an actual christmas "tree", in the town square. not long after, the latvians were the first ones to decorate one.

@freedomordeath010 Жыл бұрын

The first christmas tree wasn’t displayed in Germany, it is actually contested between Tallinn, Estonia; and Riga, Latvia.

@mistermist634 Жыл бұрын

But placed by German merchants. The German Hanseatic league trade empire had huge trading points in both of these cities at the time and Germans placed them there

@suides4810 Жыл бұрын

@@freedomordeath010 which assumes that german people dont have Paganini roots

@freedomordeath010 Жыл бұрын

@@mistermist634 Your comment makes sense. If those cultural practices had their origins in Germany, the first recorded ‘christmas tree’ would have been displayed in their own country, and not in faraway lands. It is a well known fact that the balts would celebrate the changing of seasons, and one way in which they celebrated the winter solstice was by decorating the indoors with chopped down trees, twigs etc. These practices pre-date Christianity and a German national/ethnic identity.

@rzuue Жыл бұрын

@@freedomordeath010 well, the German Christmas traditions don’t come from Christianity either. Germans as well, as far back as when they were only mere tribes around the year 0, celebrated the winter solstice. It’s a very common tradition in European cultures. Putting up green things inside the house as well. And that’s how the Christmas tree tradition originally started - with putting plants inside during winter. I’d say it’s near impossible to say where the first Christmas tree was put up, since it’s unlikely that it was recorded or that it was made public. It might’ve been just the idea of one person which others liked and adapted. That means, we can’t be sure that it was really in Germany, but we can’t prove it wrong either.

@WVgirl1959 Жыл бұрын

Queen Charlotte was directly descended from Margarita de Castro y Sousa, a Black branch of the Portuguese royal house.

@jamesnotjames Жыл бұрын

Mama, how’re u gonna put candles all over a dead tree and not have a problem?

@yupyup8305 Жыл бұрын

Now we just need em' to celebrate on the 24th too!

@cjwms7279 Жыл бұрын

3:47 I was born here! (Also, I live near that city. I currently live in Harrisburg, NC. (Yes, that city exists.))

@pushpitjain1717 Жыл бұрын

Where is 2022 a look back video I am waiting for it very excitedly😄😄

@angelitabecerra Жыл бұрын

Small world this. I grew up outside Charlotte, NC

@ladyjustice1474 Жыл бұрын

The song actually translates to "oh great tree" the Christmas tree of originally known as the Yule tree was draped in white during Yule, and then burned. That is it's true origin.

@blackforest_fairy Жыл бұрын

wrong Tannenbaum means fir tree not great tree. the translation musst be "oh fir tree, oh fir tree how green are your leafes. You not only green in summer time but also in winter when snow is falling, oh fir tree oh fir tree..."

@Ad_Astra2023 Жыл бұрын

It’s weird how Queen Victoria spread those traditions such as X-mas tree and white wedding dress worldwide. It proves how powerful British kingdom and its influence was.

@171QA Жыл бұрын

Great video.

@blessedpigeon6304 Жыл бұрын

bros be like "you can see from space" like it's something impressive with modern satellite image quality i could detect a squirrel on a lawn

@FuzzyKittenBoots Жыл бұрын

How did Christmas trees become a thing in the Anglosphere* Christmas trees had spread from Germany to other European countries (especially Scandinavia) before they were popularized in Britain and later America.

@odysseas_kratsas Жыл бұрын

we have the fir tree song here in greece as well the lyrics couldn't be translated exactly but the over-all message is the same ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ that song is very widely sung in europe on christmas

@nurasyl_dobrovolec9110 Жыл бұрын

Really good channel for the learning English

@ProgessivesBwhitetho Жыл бұрын

no no no

@Petruscaceres Жыл бұрын

A Christmas tree farm you can see from space… yeah if you zoom enough you can. Like so many other things.

@MyLateralThawts Жыл бұрын

The pagan Germans worshipped oak trees and decorated them during the winter solstice. Christian missionaries said it was okay to worship trees in connection to God, but only the fir trees, as their triangular shape represented the Holy Trinity. And now you know, the rest of the story.

@deokspatch8458 Жыл бұрын

No. Don't lie.

@PPfilmemacher 6 ай бұрын

@@deokspatch8458No, he is right