Norway Spruce

Norway spruces, as well as other species of conifer, are a traditional part of the Christmas holiday on December 25th. Decorating a fir or spruce tree around that time dates back to before Christianity came to Europe, though. People used to do it on the winter solstice, December 21st, as part of their celebrations to cheer themselves up on the longest night of the year. Christians later adopted the practice of decorating "Christmas Trees"— as early as the 16th century people in Germany were decorating fir or spruce trees with apples, paper flowers, and even cheese and pretzels to mark the holiday. In Eastern Europe, they're often called "New Year's Trees"; Riga, Latvia, claims to have been the site of the first of these in 1510. German "tannenbaums" were probably first introduced to the UK in the 19th. There's some disagreement about who first brought them, though; some people say it was Charlotte, the German wife of King George III, and some people think it was Albert, Queen Victoria's husband. Either way, they're now a mainstay of Christmas in the British Isles and the rest of the world.