HISTORY OF THE CHRISTMAS TREE

History of Christmas Trees, Part One
Evergreens have been associated with seasonal celebrations since ancient times. Seasonal celebrations occur at the time of winter solstice. Evergreens have been used as symbols by various nationalities and/or religious groups, including: Egyptians, Romans, Druids, Vikings, Anglo-Saxons, Spaniards and Slovaks. Yule log traditions contributed to superstitions, as well as the traditions of gift giving and decorating the log or tree.
Evergreens
Long before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter. Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine, spruce and fir trees, ancient peoples hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows. In many countries people believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits and illness.
Winter Solstice
In the Northern hemisphere, the shortest day and longest night of the year falls on December 21 or December 22 and is called the winter solstice. Many ancient peoples believed that the sun was a god and that winter came every year because the sun god had become sick and weak. They celebrated the solstice because it meant that at last the sun god would begin to get well. Evergreen boughs reminded them of all the green plants that would grow again when the sun god was strong and summer would return.
The Ancient Egyptians
The ancient Egyptians worshipped a god called Ra, who had the head of a hawk and who wore the sun as a blazing disc in his crown. At the solstice, when Ra began to recover from the illness, the Egyptians filled their homes with green palm rushes which symbolized for them the triumph of life over death.
The Ancient Romans
Across the Mediterranean Sea, the early Romans marked the solstice with a feast called the Saturnalia in honour of Saturn, the god of agriculture. The Romans knew that the solstice meant that soon farms and orchards would be green and fruitful. To mark the occasion, they decorated their homes and temples with evergreen boughs. The Saturnalia was a special time of peace and equality when wars could not be declared, when slaves and masters could eat at the same table, and when gifts were exchanged as a symbol of affection and brotherhood.
The Celts and Vikings
In Northern Europe the mysterious Druids, the priests of the ancient Celts, also decorated their temples with evergreen boughs as a symbol of everlasting life. The fierce Vikings in Scandanavia thought that evergreens were the special plant of the sun god, Balder. Many historians believe that our word for Yule came from the Norse word, 'rol', the Gothic word 'hiul' or the Saxon work 'hweol' all of which mean wheel and refer to the cycles of the sun.
The Yule Log
When families bring home their Christmas tree from a sales lot or a choose-and-cut tree farm, they are following a tradition that is more than a thousand years old. "Bringing in the Yule log" was a ritual that began in Great Britain and that spread throughout Europe, eventually reaching North America. On Christmas Eve, the large central trunk of a great tree was dragged from the forest. Everyone in the family, both adults and children, helped with the job by pulling on the ropes. When the log was finally brought into the house, it was thrown on the family fireplace where it burned for the 12 days of Christmas. Many superstitions surrounded the log: it had to be ignited the first time a flame was put to it or bad luck would surely follow; it had to be lit with a stick saved from the fire from the year before or the house would burn down; and unless charcoal from the great fire was kept under the family beds for the following year, the house might be struck by lightning. As the Yule log spread through Europe it acquired many customs and many names. In Ireland, it was called "bloc na Nodleg", or Christmas block. In Spain, children followed the log as it was dragged through the village, beating it with sticks to drive out the evil spirits; they were rewarded with gifts of nuts and chocolates by people who lived along the way. In the Balkan areas of Europe, women decorated the log with red silk, gold wire, needles and flowers before it was thrown into the fire. Hardly anyone burns a Yule log anymore, but some memories of it remain. In French homes, instead of Christmas cake, children enjoy a rich chocolate roll covered with a dark brown frosting that looks just like bark. Sometimes the "buche de Noel", or Christmas log, is decorated with frosted berries and holly needles, or with marzipan mushrooms, as a reminder of the great logs that were once dragged from the forest.

Next: The history of Christmas trees, Part Two

The History of Christmas Trees, Part Two
14th century "Miracle Plays" held annually on December 24th required stage props of apple trees. In colder climates this led to the use of decorated evergreens. The traditional red and green seasonal colours developed from these plays and stage props. Over time, foods were added as decorations on the trees. Gradually, metal ornaments replaced some of the edible decoration.
Paradise Trees
In the fourteenth century, when hardly anyone knew how to read, churches held "miracle plays" to tell the people in villages and towns stories from the Bible. Special plays were held at special times of the year, in accordance with the early Christian Calendar of Saints. The play that was held every December 24, which was Adam and Eve's Day, was about the Garden of Eden. The play showed how Eve was tempted by the serpent, how she picked the apple from the forbidden tree and how the couple was expelled from Paradise. The time of year that the play was held created a problem for the actors and the organizers of the play. How do you find an apple tree with needles on it in the middle of the winter? In Germany, someone solved the problem by cutting down an evergreen tree, probably a spruce or pine, and tying apples onto it. As well, the tree was hung with round white wafers to remind the audience that even though Adam and Eve were expelled from Paradise, the birth of the baby Jesus Christ would bring redemption. The idea of a Christmas tree hung with apples amused people in Germany so much that before long many families were setting up Paradiesbaum, or Paradise trees, in their own homes. The custom persisted long after the miracle plays were no longer performed. Ever since, red and green, the colours of apples hanging on a pine tree, have been the official colours of the festive season
The Christmas Tree
As the years passed the trees were loaded with many more things to eat in addition to apples. Gilded nuts and gingerbread cookies were hidden in the tree while marzipan candies, shaped like fruits and vegetables, were hung from the boughs. Brightly decorated eggshells, cut in half and filled with tiny candies, were set in the tree like birdnests. So many sweets were hung from the tree that some people called it "the sugar tree". On the Twelfth Night of Christmas, January 6, when it was believed that the Magi arrived in Bethlehem bearing gifts, the tree was shaken and the children finally were allowed to eat the sweets that fell from the tree. The wafers once hung on the Paradise tree were replaced with cookies in the form of hearts, bells, angels and stars. With time, perhaps because so many decorations were eaten before the tree was taken down, the cookies were replaced with decorations made out of thin, painted metal. When families in colder climates combined the decorations on the Paradiesbaum with the candles on a conifer tree, they created the Christmas tree that is still found in homes today.

The History of Christmas Trees, Part Two

14th century "Miracle Plays" held annually on December 24th required stage props of apple trees. In colder climates this led to the use of decorated evergreens.
The traditional red and green seasonal colours developed from these plays and stage props.
Over time, foods were added as decorations on the trees.
Gradually, metal ornaments replaced some of the edible decoration.

Paradise Trees

In the fourteenth century, when hardly anyone knew how to read, churches held "miracle plays" to tell the people in villages and towns stories from the Bible. Special plays were held at special times of the year, in accordance with the early Christian Calendar of Saints. The play that was held every December 24, which was Adam and Eve's Day, was about the Garden of Eden. The play showed how Eve was tempted by the serpent, how she picked the apple from the forbidden tree and how the couple was expelled from Paradise.

The time of year that the play was held created a problem for the actors and the organizers of the play. How do you find an apple tree with needles on it in the middle of the winter? In Germany, someone solved the problem by cutting down an evergreen tree, probably a spruce or pine, and tying apples onto it. As well, the tree was hung with round white wafers to remind the audience that even though Adam and Eve were expelled from Paradise, the birth of the baby Jesus Christ would bring redemption.

The idea of a Christmas tree hung with apples amused people in Germany so much that before long many families were setting up Paradiesbaum, or Paradise trees, in their own homes. The custom persisted long after the miracle plays were no longer performed.

Ever since, red and green, the colours of apples hanging on a pine tree, have been the official colours of the festive season

The Christmas Tree

As the years passed the trees were loaded with many more things to eat in addition to apples. Gilded nuts and gingerbread cookies were hidden in the tree while marzipan candies, shaped like fruits and vegetables, were hung from the boughs. Brightly decorated eggshells, cut in half and filled with tiny candies, were set in the tree like birdnests. So many sweets were hung from the tree that some people called it "the sugar tree". On the Twelfth Night of Christmas, January 6, when it was believed that the Magi arrived in Bethlehem bearing gifts, the tree was shaken and the children finally were allowed to eat the sweets that fell from the tree.

The wafers once hung on the Paradise tree were replaced with cookies in the form of hearts, bells, angels and stars. With time, perhaps because so many decorations were eaten before the tree was taken down, the cookies were replaced with decorations made out of thin, painted metal. When families in colder climates combined the decorations on the Paradiesbaum with the candles on a conifer tree, they created the Christmas tree that is still found in homes today.