The Art of the Christmas Tree

Here I am in front of one the tallest Christmas trees I have seen. Where else would I be except  in Las Vegas, capital of " over the top" in everything?
I do love all the decorations I see here at this time of year. I make ceramic ornaments myself, and enjoy these holiday traditions.
Christmas comes around the time of  the winter solstice,  December 21, marking the  longest night and shortest day of the year. The Romans would celebrate with a feast called Saturnalia, in honor of Saturn, the sun god, and decorated with evergreen boughs. Other ancient cultures saw this greenery as symbols of everlasting life and also used them around this feast time. 
Germany started the Christmas tree tradition as we know it back in the 16th century. Belief has it that Martin Luther first added lighted candles to the tree, inspired by the stars. What really made the difference was  in 1846, when a sketch of the English Queen Victoria, with  her German prince and their family,  around a decorated tree was then published.  What was done at court became the fashion everywhere. It  soon crossed over to America. Nice of my namesake to start such a lovely tradition!