Christmas has always been a cause for celebration. The Elizabethan historian, John Stow, recorded that in 1444, people of Cornhill, London, had set up a tree in the street: ‘nailed While on Christmas Day 1666, diarist Samuel Pepys had a lie-in before nipping to church. His wife, meanwhile, stayed snug in bed; unsurprising considering she had been up until 4am overseeing her ‘mayds These festive descriptions might sound familiar, yet all is not quite as it seems. Medieval London’s tree would have looked rather different from the evergreens that grace our living rooms today. Indoor trees, festooned with candles, sweets and homemade décor, were popularised by Queen Victoria and Albert in the mid-19th century; this was a nostalgic reminder of the prince’s childhood in Germany where the tradition dated back
