News excerpt

The tradition of having a Christmas tree is not Biblical. It is a modern invention that originated in Germany.

Where did the Christmas tree originate?

• The Christmas tree originated in the 17th Century just over the southwestern German border in Strasbourg in Alsace. It was at the time part of the Rhineland, now in present-day France.
• The ritual gradually spread to other parts of Germany in the 1770s.
• But, it was not widely adopted in the country until the 1830s, around the same time it reached the United Kingdom and began to gain popularity in the United States.

Rhineland 

• Historically contentious, the Rhineland is a region of western Europe that runs along both sides of the middle Rhine River in western Germany.
•  It is located to the east of Germany's borders with the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Luxembourg.

Strasbourg

• Strasbourg is the capital city of Grand Est region in eastern France. Grand Est region was created by the union of the former regions of Alsace, Lorraine, and Champagne-Ardenne. 

• It lies 2.5 miles (4 km) west of the Rhine River on the Franco-German frontier.

• Strasbourg plays a major role as a business, commercial, and cultural centre.

• Besides its traditional role as the chief city of Alsace, Strasbourg is also the seat of a number of European institutions and bodies including the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, and the European Court of Human Rights.