Christmas 2020: History of festivity, Christmas tree; all you need to know about birth of Jesus of Nazareth The Christmas tree tradition made its way from Germany to the United States in the late 18th century, when Hessian troops joined the British to fight in the Revolutionary War. FP Trending December 24, 2020 14:37:31 IST Christmas tree. Image courtesy Kazuh/Wikimedia Commons The world celebrates Christmas on 25 December annually as a joyous, religious holiday marking the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, whose teachings formed the foundation of the religion of Christianity. However, historically, the celebrations have its roots in a distant, pre-Christian time, and often have darker more sinister origins.