What does the Christmas tree have to do with Christmas?

Question

In old testament, there appears to have been some type of tree worshipping going on with decorations of gold and silver ornaments, I believe it was found in the book of Jeremiah, but in those times historically, Jesus Christ was not born, therefore, they were not using the tree to celebrate Christmas.

Answer 1

Nothing. It's a pagan tradition. Like many Christian holidays, they were former pagan rituals.

Answer 2

Paul, I am very sorry to disappoint you, but only in the english language the winter solstice holiday is called "CHRISTmas". That has to do with the fact that Europe's violent christianisation was at the same time going on as the birth of your language. Yes, english is that young.

So, the tree is of course a part of the Yule celebration. We bring in some green branches or pine trees and put up some ornaments and apples and such, to be reminded that from now on the light is reborn, from now on the days will become longer again, that winter really will have an end.

In former millenia that was not really obvious to many people. They did not know about the way the earth went around the sun, they just watched the days become colder and longer dark etc. It took very long time for them to figure out that there was actually a certain rhythm in the way we go around the sun, and that with the winter solstice, the next spring will absolutely come back, and with that new crops on the fields, meaning food for the family.

You must imagine, these people lived on what they grew on the fields or what they hunted or collected on the way. No stores, no freezers and such! Once your food was eaten, your family would simply starve without new food. That is why the new-coming spring was so important.

And that is why all cultures who depended on agriculture were celebrating that solstice as so important. And yes, that was also the reason why THIS holiday was chosen as "birth of Jesus" in the council of Nicaea (around 335). The winter solstice was so extremely important to all cultures known, they thought it would be easier to make them understand that this new god was important. By putting his birthday on the most important holiday, even the lowest hick would get it. That is why you celebrate "Christmas" around our yule.

Oh, of course that name was not around at that time, because english was not born yet. On the british islands celtic and roman people lived, and the saxons brought of course saxon with them in the 5th century.

In german we still say "Weihnachten" which basically means "blessed night". It has absolutely NOTHING to so with any carpenter from Nazareth, it refers to the winter solstice.

The swedish still say Jul, which is the older spelling for Yule, same word.

Answer 3

Very little. Decorating live trees was an old pagan custom, particularly in northern Europe. Supposedly the first Christmas trees came to America with German immigrants in the early 1800s. Since our present Christmas is actually a slightly modified pagan midwinter feast day it stands to reason that a lot
of old customs would become reattached here and there.

Answer 4

It's not a Christian tradition, but a pagan one in which pagans would cut down trees and give gifts to each other. Christians hi-jacked it. Jesus was born in either the spring or early fall because the sheep were grazing when the Angel came to the Wise men. Sheep do not traditional graze in that part of the world in winter time.

Answer 5

The Christmas tree comes to us from Germany. Martin Luther is credited with being inspired by the starry heavens one night, and expressing his feelings to his family by bringing a fir tree into his home, and attaching lighted candles to its branches. Fir meant fire, and fire is an ancient symbol for spirit. The tree also pointed toward the heavens.

Evergreens were thought to represent the ever-burning fire of life. The color green signified the life force through the year. Eventually decorative balls represented the planets, while the star that radiates from the top reminds us of Bethlehem. The entire tree and decorations teach us that the universe is witness to the Incarnation.

Red at Christmas reminds us of the fire of the Spirit. Green affirms nature, and the ongoing life. And in the Incarnation, Spirit unites with nature.

In fact, the Christmas tree symbolizes to us a further appreciation of Jesus' birth. It is a means of retelling a miracle in a colorful and beautiful way so that we can further understand and appreciate Jesus' entering our world.

Actually, the tree is a reinterpretation of pagan rites, along with the use of other greens and decorations to commemorate in ancient times a celebration of the feast of Saturnalia - the birth of the Sun in the sky at the Winter Solstice. Along with the giving of gifts, the feast was later Christianized with the selection of December 25th to announce the birth of the Son of God to the world.

The tree also tells the story of a cosmic event - a mystery. In personal celebrations of Christmas the tree begins its use in the 16th century, and is later brought to America by German immigrants.

The heavens and earth rejoice in the coming of the Lord of Life. Our decision must be either for our Christmas tree to represent the celebration of the birth of Christ, or simply an acknowledgment of the pagan festival of the Winter Solstice.

What does the beauty of the Christmas tree say to you?

Answer 6

Actually, the Christmas tree was taken from Northern European Paganism. They lit candles and put them in a fir as part of their Winter Solstice celebration, which is called Yule. The Catholic Church assimilated Yule in order to make it easier to convert Pagans. In doing so, they took the tree, the Holly King (known as Santa Claus in the Church), and a number of other Yule traditions.

Answer 7

The tree has nothing to do with Christmas. However, I don't think there's anything wrong with it, as long as you're not worshipping the tree and it's just a decoration.

Answer 8

Nothing!

It became a symbol (supposedly pagan) for Christmas when a German gentleman lighted a tree for his children during a cold and dreary winter many many ages ago. I may have heard the story incorrectly but this is how I remember it.

Answer 9

The evergreen tree was central to pagan beliefs and was used by pagans to symbolize the presence of life in the dead of winter. when christianity came along they stole many holiday traditions so they could convert pagans from there "evil" ways. Many holiday traditions have been stolen from the pagan community.

Answer 10

Christmas in an amalgam of several pagan holidays, one of the popes decreed that Christmas should be on Dec 25 to make people stop worshiping pagan gods and turned it into Christmas.

Answer 11

Hi

the Christmas tree, like many other Christmas traditions originated in Germany. In the 7th century a monk from Devonshire traveled to Germany to preach the word of God. He spent time in Thuringia, an area of Germany which became the center of the Christmas Decoration industry. Legend says he used the triangular shape of the fir tree to describe the Trinity of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. People began revering the fir tree instead of the traditional oak. The original Christmas trees were hung, upside down from ceilings as a symbol of Christianity.

In Latvia, the first decorated tree appeared in 1510. Martin Luther is said to have been coming home and seeing the stars shining brightly through the fir trees and lighted the dark night, decided to add candles to his tree.

Christmas trees have been decorated with many different items. Food items were the symbol of plenty and paper flowers were symbolic of the tree in the Garden of Eden. Red flowers symbolized knowledge and white ones for innocence.

Another staple of the decorated Christmas tree is tinsel. It too originated in Germany around 1610. An interesting fact is that the original tinsel was actually made with pulled silver. It was durable, but did tarnish quickly. Silver was used for tinsel up to the mid 20th century.

Georgian Kings brought the first Christmas trees to England. Since the English didn’t like the German Monarchy, they didn’t copy their court by putting up Christmas Trees.

A few families did have Christmas trees as a result of the influence of their German neighbors. The Christmas tree didn’t grow into popularity among the English until the reign of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The German born Prince had the family standing around the Christmas tree and it was illustrated in the London News. Since Queen Victoria was very popular the tradition began to be copied and quickly spread from England to the shores of The East Coast in American society. The first trees were decorated with silver tinsel, silver wire ornaments, small beads and candles. The decorations were home-made and young ladies spent hours working on Christmas crafts. They sewed little pouches for secret gifts, made paper baskets in which sugared almonds were placed and made beautiful angels to sit on top of the tree.

Glass ornaments appeared around 1870. They were imported from Thuringia to England and became a status symbol. The more glass ornaments on the tree, the better the social status. Flags also became popular to decorate the tree as the British Empire grew. Flags of allied countries as well as the Empire were hung on the patriotic trees.

In the 1800’s many innovations came along to change the Christmas tree forever. The introduction of electric lights, in 1882 and metal hooks for hanging decorations on the tree safely are just a couple.

Trees sat on tables until the late 1800’s. Each family member had a tree on the table and his or her gifts were placed around their own tree. They began to stand on the floor and came in larger varieties and sizes. Soon manufactured trees began appearing. The tree wavered in popularity due to times of mourning for Queen Victoria, wars, and hard times.

Large trees were decorated and erected in public places to help the morale of the people during the hard times.

Real Christmas trees are still very popular, and what fun it is to go and tag your tree early in the fall and have it ready to be picked up on your specified date. It can be a family tradition with each member looking for the “perfect” tree. In this modern time, the manufactured trees have gained in popularity. These perfectly shaped trees can be put up and taken down without a single needle dropping into the carpet. They are so natural looking that many times it fools everyone. You can even buy pine sprays to put on your tree to make it smell real.

The newest item is the already lit Christmas tree. This was a brilliant idea and simplified life for many households. All you need to do is set up the tree, plug it in and then decorate it. No more messing with strings of tangled lights and wrapping them around the tree.

Take care

Paul