There is no Christmas or New Year’s Eve without colorful, decorated Christmas tree. Even in cultures which do not celebrate the birth of Christ, decorated Christmas tree is the symbol of New Year’s holidays and the new beginning. Why do we decorate it and what does the Christmas tree stand for?
Ancient Romans and the Christmas Tree
There are several different sources which provide an answer to this question. Ethnological texts state that it’s all about an ancient pagan tradition. Romans believed that the forest spirits lived in firs so they went to the woods on New Year’s Eve to give them gifts and propitiate them. Later they cut down young firs and brought them to their homes, and in that manner, fir became the symbol of celebration of the new upcoming year. Coniferous trees served as a reminder that winter was going to pass and that spring was going to come again.
Christmas Tree as the symbol of Jesus Christ
One of the legends says that in front of the cave in which Jesus Christ was born three coniferous trees were growing. One was cedar tree, the second was the pine tree, and the third was the fir tree. When the Messiah was born, all of the trees took a bow in order to greet the Son of God. The cedar tree gave the newly born its fragrant needles, and the pine tree gave him its pine cones as a present. Only the fir did not have fruit, so it started to cry. The angel showed mercy and gave it a star from the sky which the tree put down in front of Jesus. Hence the ritual of putting the star on top of the Christmas tree.
The first evidence of Christmas tree decoration comes from the 11th century. In Germany, they decorated a Christmas tree with red apples. In West Germany, the tree was decorated with variously shaped cookies and candles which were the symbol of Christ and eternal light.
Over the centuries, this ritual spread across Europe. In England, Prince Albert decorated the first Christmas tree in 1841. It was decorated with small presents, ribbons, paper flowers, and candies. Pretty soon this nice ritual became regular and it ordinary people started doing it, too.
Invention of the Christmas ornament
In the beginning, apples were put on the Christmas Tree, along with cookies, walnuts, prunes, ribbons…The legend says that a German glassblower was very sad because he did not have money to buy edible Christmas ornaments for his little ones. So, he decided to create glass balls. His ornaments caused great excitement among people, so the glassblower eventually became very rich.
In the USA the first Christmas trees were decorated in the 17th century thanks to Germans who populated that area. In Asia, the missionaries brought the first decorated Christmas tree in the 19th and 20th centuries. Soon enough almost all cultures have gladly accepted the Christmas tree tradition.
Therefore, whether you decorate it with pricey glass balls, cheap paper or plastic ornaments, flowers, candy, the decorated Christmas tree will always be a symbol of welfare, happiness, joy, and hope.
Turn this ritual into a nice family fun. All people you love should put one Christmas ornament on a Christmas tree. Let your imagination run wild! Play with the glass ornaments, ribbons, candles. As a result, you’ll see smiles on dear faces of your family and friends. Spreading positive energy and joy is what makes New Year’s and Christmas holidays magical.
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