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 16th century. Germans brought the first Christmas tree to America around the year 1700. But they were not popular. Other people wanted to have a Christmas tree are too - evenAmericans! Today Christmas trees are everywhere at christmastime. Sometimes they are not real trees. People may use other things to make atree. This has become a sign of Christmas.