It was in the 17th and 18th century that the first illuminated trees appeared. Because wax was expensive, nutshells filled with oil with a small floating wick were often used, or else soft candles were tied to the branches.

It is said that in 1738, Marie Leszczynska (Queen of France, wife of Louis XV) erected a Christmas tree in the Castle of Versailles (in France). From then on, over time, mostly because of immigration from Alsace-Lorraine where the Christmas tree tradition already existed, the Christmas tree started to take its place in France.

The custom of decorating a tree for Christmas was brought to the United States by the first German immigrants. In Canada, this tradition was also introduced by a German. In 1781, General Von Reidesel planted, in Sorel, the first Christmas tree on Quebec soil. Its introduction in Canada came at the end of the 18th century, before it even became common practice in England. The first ornaments were homemade, before they started being factory made. In the middle of the 17th century, trees were lit with little candles.

In 1837, Hélène de Meclembourg, Duchesse of Orleans (originally from Germany) had a tree decorated at Tuileries. This tradition spread in all the country after the 1870 war. Immigrants from Alsace-Lorraine brought the Christmas tree tradition to the French: “Where there is an Alsacian family, there is a Christmas tree”. At the end of the 19th century, the whole country had adopted it.

In 1841, Prince Albert (originally from Germany), husband of Queen Victoria, had a tree erected in Windsor Castle in England. From the courtyard, the Christmas tree custom spread quickly among the middle classes and later among the lower classes. In Victorian times, a nice Christmas tree had to have six layers of branches and be placed on table covered with a white damask tablecloth. It was adorned with garland, candy, and paper flowers.

The first decorations with electric light bulbs appeared in 1882 in the United States. However, they were very scarce because, at the beginning of the century, the price of an electric light garland represented the equivalent of a week’s salary. It is between the middle of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century that the custom really set in.