Where did the idea of a tree for Christmas come in?

Question

I understand joyous decorations, but what is the reasoning behind a tree in the house

Answer 1

I once read a story about that very question. It was about a little girl and when her father would go out and chop down trees, she would lit a latren for him, so he would now he was close to home. One night he got lost, that he wasn't able to see the flicker of the latren, and as he walked through the snow he saw a light and went towards it, and as he went towards it the light moved to the next tree, until he found his way home and the latren that his daughter would always light for him before he'd leave.
And since then they would put lights on their tree, to remember of that miracle.

Answer 2

The symbol of eternity and unwavering faithfulness, evergreen trees represented hope for early man. Even as far south as Rome, the evergreen had deep meaning for the pagans and was used in their very popular winter solstice celebration, Saturnalia. Evergreens were symbolic of the promise of spring and renewal in the months where the daylight was shortened and darkness prevailed.
The early Christians realized that they couldn't alienate the pagans if they were to capture their attention. They would have to preserve the pagan celebrations. So they changed the focus of those celebrations to represent Christianity. That's why the winter solstice was chosen as the birth of Christ.
The symbolism was compatible: evergreens for eternity, yule logs for lasting light, etc. So the traditions remained in place with a different, Christian meaning.
Martin Luther is generally credited for adding candles to the Christmas evergreen tree. He wanted to replicate indoors the night stars in the eternal heavens.
About 15 years ago I was in Germany for Midnight Mass. The interior of the cathedral was filled with 20 foot high evergreen trees. There must have been 30 or more. Each tree was fitted with real candles. At Communion, the lights in the church dimmed and the candles in the trees were lit. The choir sang Silent Night (Stille Nacht).
At first I was nervous at the prospect of an impending danger. But the longer I gazed at those candles on all those trees, the more enchanted they became. They were truly the stars of the firmament. I was part of a miraculous transformation.
Thankfully there were no fiery mishaps that night. (I later learned that all the trees were sprayed with something to resist burning and that there were fire marshals all over the church.)
But I will never forget the magic of those trees and how they deepened the primal meaning of Christmas for me.

Answer 3

known nonsense approximately historical pagan rites. there is not any historic info for any pagan faith applying trees interior the way a Christmas tree is used. Christmas trees originated in conventional Europe some time around the fifteenth century - nicely into the Christian era. They was adorned with fruit (the apple concept is close). in case you be attentive to the bible in any respect, you will remember there's a tree with fruit interior the backyard of Eden - the Paradise Tree. This tree performed a conventional section in some mediaeval Christmas secret performs which began with Adam and Eve and ended with the delivery of the 2nd Adam - Jesus Christ. that's the main probable beginning of the Christmas tree - initially hung with fruit which replaced into later replaced by using the glass baubles we used now. lights (in the previous candles) and tinsel come later - the lights would characterize the easy of Christ getting into the international, - or they'd purely be especially. Please remind your listeners that Christmas is largely a Christian competition.

Answer 4

The Christmas tree as we know it was popularized (though not invented) by Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert who was from Germany. I understand that the trees at the time were decorated with apples and candles (kinda dangerous). In the late 1800s, a drawing of a Christmas tree appeared in British newspapers and later U.S. newspapers and soon, everyone wanted to have a Christmas tree.

Answer 5

The practice of using a Christmas tree has pagan origins just as the holiday itself. Check out the History Channel page link regarding Christmas trees:
http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=1284&display_order=4&mini_id=1290

Answer 6

As far as I understand, it originated in Germany

Answer 7

I thought it was a pagan tradition...something about fertility.

Answer 8

it is from german origins, but that is the best answer i can give you. sorry!

Answer 9

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.