Can anyone tell me what the Christmas tree has to do with Christmas?

Answer 1

The significance of the Christmas tree and the concept of the Christmas tree origins varies greatly depending upon the reference that you use. The one common thread is that it is of pagan origin. Personally I agree with David Robson, an Extension Educator at the Horticulture Springfield Extension Center, “The Christmas tree is a symbol of a living Christmas spirit and brings into our lives a pleasant aroma of the forest.”

Answer 2

The fir tree has a long association with Christianity,it began in Germany almost 1,000 years ago when St. Bonaface,who converted the German people to Christianity was said to have come across a group of pagans worshipping an oak tree. In anger,St Bonaface is said to cut down the oak tree and to his amazement a young fir tree sprung up from the roots of the oak tree. St Bonaface took this as a sign of the Christian faith. But it was not until the 16th century that fir trees were brought indoors at Christmas time.

Answer 3

Because evergreens, such as pines and holly, don't lose their leaves in Autumn, they've come to represent the everlasting life promised by God through Jesus. During the Middle Ages, they would be decorated with apples and nuts, etc. to represent the Paradise Tree. The Christmas tree as we know it stems from Martin Luther, who had been walking home through the woods one snowy night and marvelled at the beauty of the stars shining through the pine branches. He later cut down a small tree and took it indoors, decorating it to recreate the experience so that he could share it with his family. It became a German tradition, and travelled to England when Albert of Saxe-Coburg married Queen Victoria. From there, it spread to America and the rest of the world.

Answer 4

I'm not sure, but in the bible, check out Jeremiah 10:1-5. Just interesting that the bible seems to be against christmas trees!

Answer 5

The tree is green, and stays green all winter and signifies life, even when everything is dead in the winter. It's the tradtion of 'decking the halls'.

Answer 6

Christmas time is here. Atime of joy, cheer and merriment. Christmas is a special time for friends and family ties to strengthen and for people to come closer to each other. This special festive season ensures a feeling of anticipation, joy and cheer to the hildren. Like many other festivals there are many traditions associated with this lovely festival. Whether its the santa claus, christmas tree, mistletoe everything has a special significance which is rooted deep in the history. Lets explore the importance of each and every christmas symbol

MISTLETOE AND HOLLY

Mistletoe is considered to be a kind of magical plant which has no roots of itslef rather it lives on the the other tree to which it attaches itself. Druids used mistletoe to celebrate the coming of winter. They would decorate their homes with it. They used it for various purposes. As a healing plant it was suppose to cure everything from infertility in woman to poison ingestion. Scandinavians also thought of mistletoe as a plant of peace and harmony. They associated mistletoe with their goddess of love, Frigga. The custom of kissing under the mistletoe probably derived from this belief. The Druids viewed holly - with its cheerful propensity to remain green in winter - as a sacred plant, designed to keep the earth beautiful even as north winds howled and snow blanketed the landscape. They wore sprigs of holly in their hair when they went into the forest to watch their priests cut the sacred mistletoe. The early church banned the use of mistletoe in Christmas celebrations because of its pagan origins. Instead, church fathers suggested the use of holly as an appropriate substitute for Christmas greenery.


POINSETTIAS

Poinsettias derived its name from Americas first ambassador to Mexico - Joel Poinsett. The plants brought to him were considered symbolic to the star in Bethelem by the Mexicans. This is how it came to be associated with Christmas. Its a prized flower for the festive season 'cause no other flower make such a brilliant show of bright red throughout the festive weeks of December and January.

The legend of the poinsettia comes from Mexico. A charming story is told of Pepita, a poor Mexican girl who had no gift to present the Christ Child at Christmas Eve Services. As Pepita walked slowly to the chapel with her cousin Pedro, her heart was filled with sadness rather than joy. Not knowing what else to do, Pepita knelt by the roadside and gathered a handful of common weeds, fashioning them into a small bouquet. Looking at the scraggly bunch of weeds, she felt more saddened and embarrassed than ever by the humbleness of her offering. She fought back a tear as she entered the small village chapel. As she approached the alter, she felt her spirit lift as she knelt to lay the bouquet at the foot of the nativity scene. Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into blooms of brilliant red, and all who saw them were certain that they had witnessed a Christmas miracle right before their eyes. From that day on, the bright red flowers were known as the Flores de Noche Buena, or Flowers of the Holy Night, for they bloomed each year during the Christmas season.

SANTA CLAUS

Its just right to say that santa claus is one of the most awaited thing in christmas. The man with a bag full of gifts and a smily face - this is our sweet Santa Claus. He comes riding on a sleigh driven by the reindeers led by RUDOLPH. And along with the reindeer and the sleigh came the jingle bells and Elvin, the elf, who looks after Santa's Rudolf.

The day before christmas is a day of joy and fun for the kids who hang their stockings above the chimney in the belief taht santa claus will come and fill their stockings with some kind of gifts.

As the night dawns and the christmas morning comes children just cant wait to check what has santa left for them in their stockings. Thus Santa Claus in his red attire is quite famous and is a big charm amongst the children.


THE CHRISTMAS TREE

One of the most important tradition that is associated with Christmas is the Christmas Tree. It is an evergreen coniferous tree which is decorated with sweets and lights in the spirit of christmas.

The tradition is most widely observed in the parts of the Northern Hemisphere, where Christmas falls at a time when days are short, and temperatures often below freezing, with snow covering the ground. The Christmas tree began to appear in Germany as early as 700 AD. According to one legend the Christmas Tree symbolizes the Trinity and points upwards towards the God. While the light, gift and decorations on the Christmas tree mean heaven; love and charity respectively.

Even the decorations on the Christmas trees draw their root in traditional values. The crystal balls symbolizes the fruit of redemption, the electric light or the candles are ancient symbols that stand for the triumph of spring over the darkness of winter. The light also symbolizes the light that Jesus Christ cast upon the lives of the people. The Holy, when it flies down to earth, is believed to take the shape of a dove. The dove symbolizes the Holy Spirit, while the bell symbolizes the joys of life.

THE CHRISTMAS STAR

The spirit of christmas, the spirit of christmas celebrations - that is what christmas star is associated with. It is the hope for success, hope for a good fortune. This star symbolizes high ideals for oneself.

Before entering the Promised Land, Moses warned the Israelites to, "take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the LORD your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage." [Deu 4:19]

Islamic tradition claims that when Abraham was born, he was hidden in a cave because Nimrod sought to slay the newborn patriarch, just as Herod sought to kill the infant king, Jesus. After fifteen years, Abraham emerged from his cave and, seeing the evening star, believed it was God. He almost worshiped it, but the star's light grew faint and disappeared from sight. He realized his error and declared he would not worship any transient god. When the moon, and then the sun arose, Abraham mistook them for God and very nearly worshiped these bodies. However, they also faded and fell. Finally, he realized that his LORD was the invisible and never-changing God who had created the heavenly lights. Later, God swore to Abraham, "I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven..." [Gen 22:17, 15:5; Exo 32:13; Heb 11:12; Deu 1:10, 10:22, 28:62; Neh 9:23] Abraham's belief in this promise was credited to him as righteousness. [Gen 15:6] This same promise was passed down to his son, Isaac. [Gen 26:4]

CANDLES

Candles are symbol of individual's life force, or the light he or she offers to the world. They represent spirituality, devotion, faith, longing, and the life devoted to a single, generally spiritual passion or aspiration. They symbolize the passing years of a human life as it slowly burns or melts away. Because of their phallic shape, candles were commonly used in marriage and fertility rites. In these rites they may represent the innocence of virgins.


BELLS

Bells represent Joy and Sorrow. They are a symbol of creativity and harmony; the creating Word, and the music of the spheres. [Gen 1; John 1:1-4] High in the towers, suspended between heaven and earth, bells and especially their clappers, represent communication and suspension between heaven and earth, or humans and God. Even today, on Christmas Eve, these bells may be heard ringing at midnight. In other European towns, the ringing of bells from churches that were swallowed up by earthquakes during worship services may be heard by putting one's ear to the ground on Christmas Eve.


CANDY CANE

The symbol of the shepherd's crook is an ancient one, representing the humble shepherds who were first to worship the newborn Christ. The white color of the Christmas candy symbolizes the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus. The hardness of the candy symbolizes the solid rock, the foundation of churches and the firmness of the promises made by God. The candies are made in a "J" shape to represent the name of Jesus and the shape of the staff of the "Good Shepherd". And the three red stripes on the candy represents the Trinity and the blood shed by Christ to let us have the promise of the eternal life.

One story that is often told about the origin of the candy cane is as follows:

In the late 1800's a candy maker in Indiana wanted to express the meaning of Christmas through a symbol made of candy. He came up with the idea of bending one of his white candy sticks into the shape of a Candy Cane. He incorporated several symbols of Christ's love and sacrifice through the Candy Cane. First, he used a plain white peppermint stick. The color white symbolizes the purity and sinless nature of Jesus. Next, he added three small stripes to symbolize the pain inflicted upon Jesus before His death on the cross. There are three of them to represent the Holy Trinity. He added a bold stripe to represent the blood Jesus shed for mankind.