The Christmas Tree Jig
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
THE CHRISTMAS TREE JIG (J3x48) 3C Triangular set Kathryn Coles Cambridge Scottish Society 75 Years1- 8 All 3 couples set and link twice to original places
9-16 All dance RH across and LH across
17-24 All dance DoSiDo with partner (Pass RSh); all dance DoSiDo with partner (Pass LSh)
25-32 All circle 6H round and back, ending facing partner
33-40 All dance interlocking RSh reels of 4
41-44 All turn partner ΒΌ with RH to bring Men in centre, Men dance LH across round 2 places while Ladies chase 1 place round clockwise
45-48 Repeat 41-44 to end having moved 2 places round clockwise. 231
(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)
Keith Rose's Crib Diagram
Dance Information
The Christmas tree is a central feature of seasonal celebrations, with its origins linked to the use of evergreens in winter rituals long before the Christian era.Evergreen plants symbolised life and renewal during the darkest months, and by the sixteenth century families in Germany were bringing fir or spruce trees indoors and decorating them with candles, apples, and sweets. This practice spread across Europe and later to North America, becoming a recognised tradition associated with Christmas.
In Britain, the custom gained prominence in the nineteenth century after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were shown with a decorated tree at Windsor Castle, an image that influenced households across the country. As technology advanced, candles were replaced by electric lights, and ornaments expanded to include glass baubles, tinsel, and stars. Today, both real and artificial trees are widely used, often placed at the centre of family gatherings and decorated with a mixture of traditional and modern designs.
The Christmas tree continues to serve as a universal symbol of festivity, combining ancient customs with contemporary practice.
O Christmas Tree is the English name of a German Christmas song, O Tannenbaum.
O Christmas Tree - Song was based on a traditional folk song which was unrelated to Christmas, but became associated with the traditional Christmas tree by the middle of the 19th century and sung as a Christmas carol.
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
Your branches green delight us!
They are green when summer days are bright,
They are green when winter snow is white.
O Christmas Tree Song - Information Video
Christmas Tree, Potsdamer Platz, Berlin, Germany
This page uses content under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, along with original copyrighted content and excerpts from Wikipedia and other sources.
Text from this original Christmas Tree article on Wikipedia.
Image copyright Denis Apel, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.
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