The Christmas tree is one of the most important holiday symbols. This is a decorated coniferous tree that can be either natural or artificial for Christmas. In the past, the tree was associated with pre-Christian folk tradition, the cult of the evergreen tree, and a symbol of a new beginning. What is the real story of the Christmas tree? Check out the most interesting information on this topic.
Before the Christmas tree became a symbol of the holidays, tree branches were used to decorate homes in ancient times. In Egypt, during the winter solstice, houses are filled with the leaves of green date palms - the ancient Egyptians treated them as a victory over death. On the occasion of the solstice, the Romans decorated their houses with laurel and ivy, and the Celts with holly branches. Therefore, it can be said that the custom of decorating houses with plants that were assigned various symbolisms has been known since ancient times.
Norse mythology also mentions a giant tree, Yggdrasil, which was important to the Vikings. It was supposed to mark the axis of the world and the beginning of its creation. At the same time, the Vikings also believed that the tree connected heaven and earth. It is worth adding that in Scandinavia, the ash tree is still considered Yggdrasil, whose branches can supposedly cover the entire universe and are still a symbol of a new beginning. The pagan Saxons, unlike the Vikings, believed in the Irminsul oak - for them it was a connection between earth and sky.
It is worth adding that the Christmas tree is also associated with the legend of Saint Boniface, who was a missionary - he converted pagan Germans (in Germany). He was supposed to one day cut down Thor's oak, considered sacred by pagans. After the oak was cut down, it fell on nearby bushes and destroyed everything except a small fir tree. The missionary then stated that the tree was more powerful than the oak and was a symbol of eternal life. He also said that this fir tree reflects the immortal Jesus Christ. It's hard to say how much truth there is in this story - after all, it's just a legend. However, it is known that the Christmas tree motif returned at the beginning of the 15th century.
At the beginning of the 15th century, members of the Brotherhood of Journeyman Bakers in Switzerland placed a Christmas tree in the hospital of St. Spirit in Freiburg. However, they did not put just a tree there - they decorated it with fruit, colorful wafers and gingerbread. The oldest records of decorating a tree for Christmas come from Alsace, which is located on the border of today's France and Germany. It was there that conifers were first mentioned and decorated for Christmas with paper decorations, nuts and apples. Mentions of such customs come from 15th and 16th century church sermons. At that time, Christians criticized the custom of decorating the Christmas tree, considering it pagan and reprehensible.
Even though the church was unfavorable to the custom of decorating the tree for Christmas, people loved decorating coniferous trees for the holidays. Even Martin Luther, the famous German religious reformer, was a supporter of decorating a Christmas tree on Christmas. Christmas trees became famous among Protestants in Germany, as evidenced by a painting by Luke Cranach the Elder from 1509. There is a Christmas tree decorated with candles, presented as an immortal tree and a symbol of reborn life. The Christian Church, seeing the enormous interest in the Christmas tree, slowly began to "take over" the Christmas tree and incorporate it into religion. However, he gave it his own symbolism - just like the decorations that appeared on the tree.
Candles on the Christmas tree have become a symbol of light, and therefore of Jesus Christ. The light coming from the Christmas tree was also supposed to stop evil spirits. Fortunately, today, instead of candles that are dangerous to the tree, we hang Christmas lights on it. There were also handmade decorations made of straw and paper hanging on the Christmas trees, such as the famous paper chain. There were also cookies, dried fruit and bells - the latter were supposed to symbolize good news and happiness. At the top of the Christmas tree there was a star of Bethlehem, which is still considered a sign of the birth of Jesus Christ.
The first bauble was produced in 1847. It was invented by Hans Greiner, who blew a bauble out of thin glass. Greiner had no money to buy Christmas decorations. The man worked at the Lauscha glassworks in Germany, where he was motivated to create his own Christmas decoration. He thought for a long time about what to decorate the Christmas tree with. Taking advantage of the benefits of his job, he blew a round bauble made of thin glass, then took it home and decorated the Christmas tree.
Hans Greiner admitted that the bauble looks really beautiful on the Christmas tree. With his superior's consent, he started making more and more of them at the steelworks. This is how Greiner began mass production of baubles. Other people really liked the idea of decorating the Christmas tree with them for the holidays. Thanks to the fact that the steelworks started producing baubles invented by Hans Greiner, it was saved from bankruptcy. The steelworks began to earn huge amounts of money from the sale of baubles. Over time, many family craft workshops were opened around the world, recognizing the potential in the production of baubles, producing Christmas tree decorations.
Decorating the Christmas tree became popular in France and England, and then the custom was also adopted by the inhabitants of Southern Europe. Decorating the Christmas tree in the 19th century also gained popularity in the United States, mainly thanks to German immigrants. At first, the people of America turned up their noses at the tradition of decorating conifers, considering it a strange idea. However, when beautiful Christmas decorations arrived in the United States from Germany in the 1890s, trees suddenly began to appear in all homes. Americans passionately decorated their Christmas trees, over time also adding electric lights, which allowed the tree to glow for many days.
The most famous Christmas tree in America is the one in New York, specifically the one that stands every year in the Rockefeller Center. Workers from New York were the first to decorate a Christmas tree there in 1931 - they placed a huge tree on the square and then decorated it with cranberries and handmade chains. Two years later, another tree was erected there, but with lights. Since then, the Christmas tree stands in the Rockefeller Center every year, uniting people who gather around it. The American Christmas tree in New York is considered the most famous Christmas tree in the world.
In Poland, the custom of decorating conifers for Christmas was started by German Protestants, who brought the tradition of decorating the tree to Poland between the 18th and 19th centuries. At first, Poles were reluctant to decorate the Christmas tree, but this custom spread from year to year literally everywhere. The first in Poland to decorate Christmas trees were aristocrats, then the nobility, and later city dwellers. In the interwar period, Christmas trees appeared in Polish villages. Decorating the Christmas tree has replaced the old decoration and decoration - the decorated tip of a conifer above the ceiling and a sheaf of wheat and rye, which was placed on the Bounty Day in the corner of the room, ears up.
Over time, in Poland, every Christmas Eve, children hung straw chains, apples, chocolates and cookies on spruce, fir or other conifer branches. Nuts and paper decorations made by children often landed on the tree. Paper chains were also particularly important, as they symbolized - according to folk tradition - strengthening family ties and protection against evil powers. Today, handmade decorations are a thing of the past. Most people choose ready-made decorations, which can be purchased in most supermarkets every year. It's a pity that the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree has changed so much. What is important, however, is that we still decorate the tree for Christmas and we often have as much fun with it as we did when we were children.
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