English: The royal Christmas tree is admired by Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their children, December 1848. A Christmas tradition stemming from Saturnalia was the Christmas tree: During the winter solstice, branches served as a reminder of spring - and became the root of our Christmas tree. The Germans are credited with first bringing evergreens into their homes and decorating them, a tradition which made it's way to the United States in the 1830s. But it wasn't until Germany's Prince Albert introduced the tree to his new wife, England's Queen Victoria, that the tradition took off. The couple were sketched in front of a Christmas tree in 1848 - and royal fever did its work.