That’s right, it’s back to back theme weeks on the Wiki Corner! With Christmas next week, we’re doing another festive theme week, this time on 5 People who Shaped Christmas!
We’re kicking it off with Queen Charlotte. She was the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King George III, from their marriage in 1761 until her death in 1818. Queen Charlotte is credited with introducing Christmas trees to Britain and its colonies from her native Germany. The were uncommon outside of Germany until the 19th century. In December 1800, Queen Charlotte put up the first known English Christmas Tree at Queen’s Lodge, Windsor. She held a big Christmas party for the children of all the families in Windsor, placing a tree in the drawing room, decorating it with baubles, tinsel, glass, and fruits. The tree was a huge hit and decorating a tree became popular among the British nobility. It later spread to the British colonies, including America, where the first image of a decorated Christmas tree appeared in a magazine in 1850. Today, there are around 15,000 Christmas tree farms in the U.S. and 25-30 million trees are sold each year. Learn more in the audio below!