Christmas Tree Tradition Through the Ages
Decorated evergreen trees are a beloved symbol of the Christian holiday of Christmas. Even so, history tells us that conifer trees were worshipped by numerous societies long just before Christians caught on to the idea.
Ancient Egyptians were one of the initial known civilizations to treasure the conifer. When the winter solstice arrived, the Egyptians utilized to move green date palm leaves inside to symbolize life over death. When Romans celebrated their winter solstice festival, Saturnalia, they decorated their houses with greenery and lights as a way of giving thanks for a very good season and praying for yet another upcoming season of plenty. It is also stated that the Druids employed evergreens in their winter solstice rituals. They positioned evergreen branches over doors to ward off evil spirits and stop them from entering their houses.
The evergreen tree’s association with Christianity dates back about 500 years ago to the early 16th century. As the story goes, St. Boniface was traveling by means of the woods of what is nowadays northern Germany, when he came across a group of pagans that were worshipping an oak tree. St. Boniface was so angered by this that he cut the oak tree down. It is stated that in the oak tree’s spot, a conifer tree grew practically immediately. In amazement, St. Bonifice declared that this was a divine symbol of the Christian faith, and from that time forward, conifer trees began to be associated with Christianity. Eventually, German people began to bring coniferous trees indoors at Christmastime and decorate them with candles to celebrate the holiday.
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When Prince Albert of Germany married Queen Victoria of England, he brought his German tradition of the Christmas tree to England. The 1st year he was in England, he obtained a fir tree and had it decorated for his household. The people of England had been so impressed by this, that the thought caught on quickly, and soon everyone in England wanted their own “Christmas tree” in their homes.
This custom slowly spread to the new globe. Originally, the Puritans who founded our country banned Christmas worldly celebrations. In 1851, a Cleveland minister allowed a Christmas tree in his church and practically lost his job because of it. Throughout that exact same year, the tradition became part of the free marketplace economy when a farmer named Mark Carr harvested and hauled two sleds of evergreen trees to New York City. In spite of the Puritans’ early resistance to the tradition, the thought of Christmas trees flourished in the United States. By 1900, 1 in five American houses had a Christmas tree. Christmas tree farms sprang up and farmers could barley meet the demand.
In 1890, a man by the name of F.W. Woolworth introduced to the United States the thought of decorating a tree with glass ornaments. Blown glass ornaments had long been a tradition in Europe. From 1870 to the 1930s, Germans created the finest glass ornaments of that time. German glass blowers had been reported to have had nearly five,000 distinct molds for variations and different styles of Christmas ornaments. At the turn of the century, there had been more than one hundred little glass blowing shops in Europe that had been all producing Christmas ornaments. These days there are only two German glass-blowing factories that are capable of producing the precision necessary for common ornament collections such as Christopher Radko.
The popularity of the Christmas tree continues to grow. The National Christmas Tree Association reports that in 2006, more than 28 million live Christmas trees had been sold in the United States. The use of an evergreen tree has turn out to be such a classic symbol of the holiday season that it occasionally transcends religious boundaries. Today, many non-Christians decide on to display decorated evergreen tree in their houses for the duration of the month of December. Right now, artificial Christmas trees have also turn out to be a well-known choice for several families, which has even spawned a debate more than which is far better: actual versus artificial. Whatever your selection, decorate it well and take pleasure in it you are taking component in a tradition that dates back hundreds of years.