This is a folk tale of how the first Christmas tree came into being. It tells of our hero Winfried with his young companion stepping boldly into the pagan right of the passing into winter. He preaches the gospel of Christ and of Christ’s birth on that night; then from the heavens came a miracle that resulted in the salvation of the people. To celebrate, they brought new life or the Christmas tree into their homes. In this short story of Christmas, we read of courage, generosity, and the triumph of light over darkness from The First Christmas Tree. This is a magical tale of the Thunder Oak and the false god Thor, to the lyrical story of The Christmas Angel in the Country Beyond the Stars. From the time it was published it was destined to become a Christmas classic for the whole family. 10% of the publisher’s profit from the sale of this book will be donated to UNICEF. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Henry van Dyke (1852-1933) was an American author, educator, and clergyman. He graduated from Princeton University, 1873, and from Princeton Theological Seminary, 1874 and served as a professor of English literature at Princeton between 1899 and 1923. In 1908-09 Dr. Van Dyke was an American lecturer at the University of Paris. By appointment of President Wilson he became Minister to the Netherlands and Luxembourg in 1913. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters and received many other honours. KEYWORDS/TAGS: Christmas, folklore, fairy tales, myths. Legends, childrens stories, children’s book, bedtime stories, fire side, winter, fable, parable, little, black, boy, Christ, Christmas tree, cloister, darkness, eyes, father, fire, forest, God, grandmother, great, Gregor, Gundhar, heart, heaven, hills, horses, Hunrad, listen, message, mighty, moon, night, nuns, oak, people, power, priest, Prince, river, sacred, sacrifice, sea, shining, silent, silver, sky, spear, stranger, Thor, thunderer, hammer, , travellers, white, wilderness, Winfried, winter, wither, wolves