Then we can be assured of finding Jesus, not in department stores, but in our hearts. The roots of the tradition of Christmas trees is generally accepted to have stated in Germany in the mid 700's. The evergreen trees represented life. Ancients would gather evergreen leaves on the night of December 21, the shortest day of the year. It is said that about 1000 years ago, in Germany, St Boniface came across a group of pagans worshipping under an oak tree.
Nature worship is a common element of pagan ritual.
Martin Luther is credited with first placing candles on the Christmas tree. After his banishment from the Catholic church he spent a great deal of time walking through the forests of evergreen conifers thinking through his beliefs. The candles are said to have represented the stars which were seen by him through the trees. The custom of a decorated Christmas tree appears to have started in Britain in the early middle nineteenth century. Albert, the Prince Consort to Queen Victoria, brought the tradition from his homeland of Saxe Coburg, which is now part of Germany.