雅思听力考试中的日常生活部分经常会用到各种各样的节日，圣诞节就是不得不提到的一个。因为这是西方世界里面很大的节日了，圣诞节中很重要的道具圣诞树就显得特别的重要，那么你知道圣诞树的来历吗?雅思为大家整理了相关的资料，希望大家在庆祝圣诞的过程中了解这些雅思听力背景材料。
　　Legend suggests that, in the late 16th century, Martin Luther was the first to decorate an indoor tree with candles when he attempted to recreate the stars shining over a forest of evergreens.
　　The first mention of decorated trees being taken indoors came in 1605 in Germany - a country with a long Christmas tree history! The trees were initially decorated with fruit and sweets together with hand made objects such as quilled snowflakes and stars. German Christmas Markets began to sell shaped gingerbreads and wax ornaments which people bought as souvenirs of the fair and took home to hang on their tree.
　　Tinsel was also invented in Germany in about 1610. Up until fairly recently real silver was used, which was pulled into wafer thin strips by special machines. This was durable but tarnished quickly and many experiments took place to try and find an alternative - including a mix of lead and tin, which was too heavy and kept breaking. It was only in the mid 20th century that a viable alternative was found.