Christmas Tree Tradition
By Kay DiVerdeHave you ever wondered why we decorate evergreen trees during the Christmas holidays? Many of us just take it for granted that it is something we do because it has been done for generations in our families. It's time to discover how this tradition began.
Evergreen trees have had a special meaning to people since long before the start of Christianity. Ancient people often hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows. In some countries, it was believed that these evergreens helped keep away evil spirits and illness. Evergreens also stay green year-round, and, thus, are a symbol of everlasting life.
The Germans receive credit for the tradition of the decorated trees we know today. It was in the sixteenth century when devout Christians started bringing decorated trees into their homes. Christmas pyramids were often built of wood and then decorated with candles and evergreens if wood was scarce.
Martin Luther, the sixteenth century Protestant reformer, is known for adding the first lighted candles to a tree. A story is told about when he was walking home one winter evening, composing his sermon, he was in awe of the brilliance of stars twinkling amongst the evergreens. In an attempt to recapture this sight for his family, he put up an evergreen tree in the main room and added lighted candles to the branches.
Christmas trees were not always a welcomed sight. To the New England Puritans, Christmas was a sacred religious holiday. William Bradford, the Pilgrim's second governor, wrote that he tried very hard to stop pagan mockery of the Christmas holiday, penalizing any frivolity. The influential Oliver Cromwell also preached against traditions he considered "heathen," including Christmas carols, decorated trees and any joyful expression that desecrated the sacred day.
The General Court of Massachusetts enacted a law in 1659, making any observance of December 25, other than a religious service, a penal offense. Residents were even fined for hanging decorations.
The first record of a Christmas tree being on display in the United States was in the 1830's by German settlers in Pennsylvania. Trees had been a tradition in German homes long before then. Most Americans did not accept the Christmas tree tradition and considered it a pagan symbol as late as the 1840's.
The strict solemnity continued until the nineteenth century. At this time the influx of Irish and German immigrants undermined the Puritan legacy. In addition, the popular rulers, Queen Victoria and her German Prince, Albert, appeared in the Illustrated London News standing with their children around a Christmas tree in 1846. Queen Victoria was very popular with her subjects, unlike the previous Royal family. And what was done at Court became immediately fashionable. This was not only true in Britain but also with the fashion-conscious East Coast American Society. And so...the Christmas tree had arrived in America!
By the 1890's, Christmas tree popularity was on the rise in the U.S., and Christmas ornaments were being sent from Germany. The Europeans tended to use small trees, about four feet in height. The Americans, on the contrary, wanted their Christmas trees to reach from ceiling to floor.
During the early twentieth century Americans decorated their trees mainly with homemade ornaments, while the German-Americans continued to use nuts, marzipan cookies and apples. Popcorn soon became fashionable after being dyed bright colors and interlaced with nuts and berries. The invention of electricity allowed Christmas to glow for days on end. And with this, Christmas trees began to appear in town squares across the country, and it became an American tradition to have a Christmas tree in the home.
This holiday season when you are pulling out your boxes of ornaments and lights, you can test your family's knowledge on the history of the Christmas tree. And you can share the memories of how your own holiday traditions began.
Kay DiVerde is a freelance writer, horticultural researcher and consultant for Orchard's Edge. DiVerde also writes for a variety of newsletters and publications in the Midwest.
