When did the first present get put under the tree and why?

Answer 1

First Present Under TreeTraditionally, gifts were always hung ON the tree (hence the song lyrics) but undoubtedly certain gifts were too large to make this practical so they were just placed underneath. There's no place I could find that gives an exact date as to when this became the custom.

I found an old scanned newspaper from Sydney from 1936. It included a short story from a 9 year old girl about how a crooked tree was made straight when she hung the heaviest present from a high branch. Apparently it was still common to hang presents back then.