The Christmas tree is symbolic of festive celebrations every winter and it is an interesting tale to hear how a decorated tree came to become such an integral part of our Christmas celebratory rituals.
The symbolism of a Christmas tree
An evergreen tree that is harvested and brought inside to our homes is intended to promote good cheer and is symbolic of better times ahead when you look at the vibrant colors and life that a tree exudes compared to the winter landscape around us.
A turbulent history
The use of evergreen trees and wreaths can be traced back to Egyptian times where their use was meant to symbolize eternal life, and this was also the belief practised by the Chinese and Hebrews.
This was later translated to a Christianity when the Scandinavian countries started the practice of decorating their houses and barns with evergreens at the New Year as a way of scaring away the devil and setting up a tree for the birds during Christmas time.
Decorating a Christmas tree was a controversial subject in the sixteenth century and was even seen as an irreligious frivolity by those that strictly observed the Christian calendar.
Whilst the people of Britain were agonising over the rights and wrongs of using evergreen shrubs, the people of Germany were starting the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree, which is now part of our culture and tradition.
Decorating the tree
The early forms of decoration involved decorating the tree with apples which were later replaced by round objects such as shiny red balls which led to the myriad of different decorations that we all now use on our trees today when we are decorating them.
By the early 1800’s the practice of having a decorated Christmas tree in our homes was really taking hold in North America and an early example of a typical tree would be one that is decorated with candles and fruits.
Most of us love the opportunity to spread some joy by decorating a tree for the festive period and you can find an amazing array of colorful and often hand-crafted decorations from popular sites such as ChristmasOrnaments.com, where you can choose your own personal favorites and keep up with your own family traditions and preferences as to how you want your tree to look.
Public displays
A beautifully decorated Christmas tree is not just a joy to behold in our own homes, the celebration of Christmas now involves a great number of public displays that people look forward to seeing each and every year.
Since the early 20th century, public Christmas tree displays have become ever-more popular and the home of the U.S President, the White House, has had a National Christmas Tree on the lawn every year since 1923.
Cities around the world have their own iconic versions which draw large crows every year including the tree at the Rockefeller Center in New York and the Macy’s Great Tree in Atlanta has been a feature of Christmas celebrations there since 1948.
A Christmas tree is to many a symbol of comfort and joy but in many ways it means a lot more than that to people around the world.
Susan Thomson adores the holidays. She often researches the history and impacts holidays have around the world.
Toni
I love when we have our tree up, it just really makes it feel like the hoidays are here.