The Origin and History of Christmas Trees

Amir B / 4 years
Dec 01, 2020
0
4 min read

The history of Christmas trees goes back to the symbolic use of evergreens in ancient Egypt and Rome and continues with the German tradition of candlelit Christmas trees.

The origin of the Christmas tree can be traced to ‘Pagan traditions’.

“a person holding religious beliefs other than those of the main world religions, specifically a non-Christian or pre-Christian religion.” the term “Pagan” comes from the Late Latin word paganus, which was used at the end of the Roman Empire to identify those who practiced a religion other than Christianity, Judaism, or Islam.

Winter Solstice:

Long before Christianity appeared, to celebrate the Winter Solstice, people in the Northern Hemisphere used evergreen plants to decorate homes, mostly the doors of the houses.

When on December 21^st or 22^nd, the shortest day and the longest night of the year, Traditionally during this time it is seen as the return in strength of the “Sun God” who had been weakened during winter and the evergreen plants served as a reminder that the God would glow again and summer was to be expected.

The solstice was celebrated by the Egyptians who filled their homes with green palm rushes in honor of the God RA, who believed to have the head of a hawk and wore the sun as a crown.

Saturnalia Celebration:

Saturnalia was the most important celebration in Roman life. From December 17^th to 25^th according to this celebration no one could be prosecuted for injuring or killing people, robbing or theft ect, Infect anything usually against the law really.

Adam and Eve Celebration:

The late Middle Ages, during 16^th century, it was common to see plays performed in an open-air during Adam and Eve‘s day. These plays were to tell the story of human creation. As part of their play performance, the ‘Garden of Eden’ was symbolized by a “paradise tree” with hanging fruit on it. The clergy banned these practices from the public life, considering them acts of heathenry. So, some collected evergreen branches or trees and brought them to their homes secretly.

During this entire period long before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter. It was believed in many countries that evergreens would keep away ghosts, witches, evil spirits, and illness.

The credit for the introduction of the Christmas tree tradition goes to Germany. As we now know, in the 16th century, devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes.

The first record of Christmas tree one being on display was in the 1830s by the German settlers of Pennsylvania, The Pennsylvania German settlements had community trees as early as 1747.

In 1846, the popular Royals, Queen Victoria and her German Prince, Albert, were sketched in the Illustrated London News standing with their children around a Christmas tree. By the 1890s Christmas ornaments were arriving from Germany and Christmas tree popularity was on the rise around the U.S.

The Christmas Tree Decorations and their Meanings

Stars:

Star symbolizes the ‘star of Bethlehem’, which means according to the Biblical story, guided the three kings, or wise men, to the baby Jesus.

Red and Green Colors:

The color red represents the blood of Jesus when he died on the cross. Red is also a color of holly berries, which also had pagan symbolism during the winter solstice celebrations in ancient Rome.

Green color signifies everlasting light and life. Romans used to decorate their houses with evergreen branches, and the fir tree symbolized life during the winter.

Gifts with a small Bow:

Represents the men, who brought gifts to honor the birth of Jesus. This also inspired the concept of giving gifts during Christmas.

Bells:

Bells are rung during Christmas to announce the birth of Jesus and proclaim the arrival of the season. Ringing of bells can also be traced back to pagan winter celebrations used to drive out evil spirits.