How Christmas Tree Candles Found Their Way from the Continent to Victorian England

Christmas Tree Candles and Christmas Tree Candle Holders from Germany were the rage in Victorian Britain. This article sheds new light on how traditional Christmas decorations from the continent found their way to Britain.

Candles on the Christmas Tree and Christmas Tree Candle Holders? Many people are unaware that this is how our ancestors used to decorate their Christmas trees. In Britain, Christmas Decorations became firmly identified with Queen Victoria in the public mind. Fair enough. After all, it was during her reign that Christmas came into its own in Britain. Before her time, Britons did not celebrate Christmas with the same enthusiasm and opulence she came to be known for.

Victorian Christmas trees adorned Windsor Castle every year starting around 1840 and royal Christmas celebrations were featured prominently in the newspapers. The royals used Christmas candles and Christmas tree candle holders to illuminate their trees.

While poorer families couldn’t afford Christmas trees during Victoria’s reign, they followed the royals’ lead and began to decorate evergreen branches, holly and mistletoe with Christmas candles and ornaments in much the same way.

Victoria was familiar with the Yule tree because her grandmother Queen Charlotte had introduced it around 1800. In time, Victorian Christmas ornaments and Victorian trees came to be thought of as British through-and-through, and they were strongly associated with the Queen.

But ironically, the royal embrace of the Christmas tree had more to do with Germany than Britain. In fact, the Victorian Christmas Tree actually “infiltrated” the House of Windsor from Germany.

Though Victoria is credited with being Britain’s Christmas taste-maker, it was her husband, Albert, the Prince Consort, who was ultimately responsible for popularizing the Victorian Christmas Tree in England.

Christmas Candles on Christmas Tree

Albert was German. The son of minor royals, he grew up in the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in the central part of Germany, where German Christmas traditions were strong and deeply rooted. Germans traditionally decorate their trees with clip on Christmas tree candle holders or pendulum Christmas tree candle holders.

Albert had grown up decorating trees every holiday season. When he joined the British royal family, marrying Victoria in 1840, he transplanted the Germans’ love for the tree to England and asked Victoria to adopt German Christmas traditions.

When it came to Christmas lights, candles were the only choice at the time. Electricity hadn’t been harnessed for domestic use, so like all good Germans, Albert put Christmas tree candles on the royal tree. And, as they say, the rest is history.

If you opt for traditional Christmas decorations this year and decide to adorn your tree with Christmas tree candles, pause and say a quiet word of thanks to the good Prince Consort. Victoria may have been the Queen, but in all things Christmas, Albert was the power behind the throne.

Victorian Christmas decorating and Christmas Tree Candles go hand-in-hand. If you want to keep your Victorian Christmas decorations true to tradition, opt for real Christmas candles for your tree this year. It’s a magical sight and you won’t regret it.

You may be tempted by other Christmas lights. God knows there are lots of other options – colored Christmas ights on strings, green, blue, red or purple LED Christmas lights, miniature electric Christmas candles, bubble lights, and LED Christmas lights in a net – the choices are endless. But let’s say you’re determined to stick to tradition and use real Christmas tree candles. What are the options and where can you find them?

We are talking about a product with zero market share that many people are unaware of, so you won’t find your Christmas candles at the corner store. If you don’t have a lot of time and want to make sure you have your candle lights in hand in time for the Christmas festivities, it’s probably best to order online.

Christmas Tree Candle Clip

When you’re ready to order, be sure what you will need. You can’t just melt the end of the candle and glue it to the tree with hot wax (although this is what Martin Luther is said to have done). You’ll need both Christmas Candles and Christmas Candle Holders. Make sure they’re from Germany. The Germans have been manufacturing them for ages and theirs are the best.

Christmas Tree Candles and Christmas Tree Candle Holders are nearly impossible to find at retail stores. There are a few web stores that offer original Christmas Tree Candles and traditional Christmas Tree Candle Holders from Germany. Find the web store you want to use and order early to avoid a last-minute rush. Some people go empty-handed because they wait too long to place their order and the stock sells out.

If a Victorian Christmas is your theme, pick Christmas candle holders that were designed and used in that period. You can choose the Clip On Christmas Tree Candle Holder, or Candle Clip, which grips the branch and is adjustable. Or you might select the Pendulum Christmas Tree Candle Holder, which balances the candle as it hangs from the tree. Both of these are available in gold or silver and they are compatible with other Victorian Christmas ornaments.

The result will be a genuine Victorian Christmas that will warm your house during the entire Christmas season.

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Our Christmas Tree Shop includes hard-to-find Clip On Candle Holders and Pendulum Candle Holders in various styles. We also stock special Christmas Candles imported from Germany. This season, we are adding a series of articles about Christmas traditions and Christmas lights, especially Christmas tree candles and how to use them with Christmas candle holders. Be sure to check these articles out.