Before people had Christmas trees, they put plants in their homes in the cold, dark winter. Sometimes they hung green boughs over a door. This helped them to think of springtime. Christians in Germany started to use trees at Christmas in the 16 th century. Germans brought the first Christmas tree to America around the years 1700. But they were not popular. In 1834, Prince Albert, the German husband of Britain’s Queen Victoria, first brought a Christmas tree to their castle. Then the trees became popular. Other people wanted to have a Christmas tree too – even American! Today Christmas trees are everywhere at Christmastime. Sometimes they are not real trees. People may use other things to make a tree. This has become a sign of Christmas.