Where does the tradition of christmas trees come from?

Answer 1

Christmas is the Christian version of the Pagan winter solstice celebration which was about having a big feast to use up food that would not keep and making everything warm, bright and colourful before the worst of the winter sets in.

The celebration included a feast (which survives as Christmas dinner etc), a big bonfire (hence the yule log) and decorating the now bare trees with candles and ribbons etc (hence a tree with lights and so forth).

If you would like to know more you could look up "Winter Solstice" in a detailed encyclopedia like Wikipedia (sp?) or get some books on paganism which will tell you all about Easter, Halloween, The Wicker Man, Well Dressing, Stone Henge and so on as well.

I think it's the most interesting aspect of British history as it all seems to be, to some extent, a race memory within our (British, or at least Celtic, people's) collective subconscious. Every time I read/hear about something to do with the pagans for the first time it always seems strangely familiar! (I am Scottish and a wee bit Irish by race so have only Celtic blood, I'm not sure if it has the same effect on racially Anglo-Saxon folk)

Answer 2

The short answer is that noone knows for certain. The earliest mention of Christmas trees at Christmas is relatively late on in Christianity and in areas which had been Christian for hundreds of years so any supposed pagan link is extremely unlikely (As an aside, the same goes for Christmas itself - no pagan link is proven, pagan origins are a Victorian myth).

There is a very plausible Christian link. In Medieval Europe the custom arose of telling biblical stories through drama - through what are known as "Mystery plays". The best known these days are the passion plays (Oberramergau, for example). However, there were also Christmas plays - a hangover is, perhaps, the school nativity play.

These plays would not simply depict the nativity. They would trace its origins through Old Testament stories. Christ is known as the second Adam who came to save us from the consequences of the sin of the first Adam. Some of the plays started with Genesis - the story of Adam and Eve in the garden in the midst of which stood - a tree.

The tree was hung with fruit. The baubles we now decorate Xmas trees with are a hang over from - in some places they still use fruit.

Answer 3

AC is correct.
Did you further know that the baubles we hang on the tree are similar to the Witches ball used to cast bad spells away from the home.They are thought to be placed on the tree to protect the gifts underneath.As for the tinsel, that came into effect after someone noticed how pretty a spiders web looked on the tree with dew on it .

Answer 4

the dutch used 2 think the trees got cold,so that was there Christmas present 2 the trees

Answer 5

Germany or there abouts and there is a story about the tree if some of these religious nut cases would get off their hine and look they would see that it is not pagan. No more pagan than you parading around with that (knife or tommygun around your neck) signifying the place where your god died......(oh, somebody said it was a wooden cross) Would you wear a noose if it were done that way? Think about it.

Answer 6

initially, Pagans could beautify their residences with evergreen products. simply by fact the church wanted to entice greater human beings to the church, they integrated different Pagan traditions, for this reason, it morphed into the Christmas tree.

Answer 7

Queen Victoria's husband - Prince Albert

Answer 8

germany, prince albert, immigrants from europe.. all part answers.

the root (no pun intended) is pagan respect for tree spirits (dryads) - it is very pagan and nothing to do with christ, but - like a lot of things - the christians have incorporated it into their celebration

Christmas itself is just a christian rip off of other pagans celebrations (Yule, saturnalia)

Answer 9

i don't know where they came origninally, but my history prof told us that in WWI during trench warfare, the english and germans bonded over christmas, and the germans brought over christmas trees.

Answer 10

Hi,
I think you can find on the ebook they sell on this site http://www.goobypls.com/r/rd.asp?gid=416 all the answers you are looking about your hobby. I used it to plan and build my first model railroad
Good Bye