Christmas Trees

Christmas Trees...
Just Where The Heck Did They Come From?
by Candice J. Wanner

Ah, the Christmas tree. What other symbol seems to sum up the wonder and joy of Christmas better than a glittering, ornament be-decked Christmas tree spreading its evergreen wonder above a pile of gaily wrapped presents? If you’re a Christian, it’s a safe bet that you put up a Christmas tree for the holiday festivities. Even if you’re not a Christian, it seems nearly impossible to avoid the trappings of Christmas altogether due to the prevalence of decorations in every store, office and home. Let’s face it, there are more Christmas trees around than you can shake a candy cane at.

But, have you ever wondered, as Paul Harvey would say, where the tradition of the Christmas tree originally came from?

It seems that the Christmas tree is of German origins, O Tannenbaum and all that. But its actual start as a tradition of Christmas, however, seems to be lost in the ‘annals of time’. There are several legends as to its begetting, however, three done most prevalent. The first is attributed to St. Boniface, a Christian missionary who worked amongst the German tribes in the 8th century. Legend has it that St. Boniface was walking through the woods one Christmas Eve and came upon a group of druids who were about to sacrifice a young boy upon an oak tree. St. Boniface, with the power of God in his arm, struck down the oak tree and saved the boy. In the place of the fallen oak, a young fir tree grew miraculously overnight, causing St. Boniface to declare it a sign from God — that the fir tree would then become the symbol of renewal.

The second legend features Martin Luther, the great reformer. Again, the legend goes that Martin Luther was walking through the woods one Christmas Eve (must be a holy man thing) and he was awestruck by the beauty of the night sky and God’s creation. In remembrance of that wonder and to share it with his family, Martin Luther supposedly brought a tree home and placed candles upon its branches in honor of the brilliance of the stars. Which is also where we supposedly got the idea to place lights upon the tree.

The third is that of the medieval Paradise Tree. It seems that in medieval times they were rather fond of religious plays they called "mystery" or "miracle" plays. One favorite was that of the original Fall from Grace of Adam and Eve. Now, there used to be a religious holiday on December 24 honoring our first parents and it was called … that’s right! … Adam and Eve Day! And it was upon that day that the play was usually performed. Since it was the middle of winter, however, there was no apple tree bearing fruit that could serve as the Tree of Knowledge so they would tie apples upon the tree. Thus, according to some experts, was the Christmas tree born.

As for the Christmas tree in America, well that’s a rather recent innovation that came across the ocean with the Pennsylvania German settlers. In fact, the first mention of the Christmas tree in American literature was on December 20, 1821 in the diary of one Matthew Zahn of Lancaster County. One of the first Christmas trees was erected, again in Lancaster, as a fundraiser for a church. It did so well that another one was erected in the parish courtyard a few years later, but this time the congregation raised a ruckus and demanded it be taken down as they felt it was paganistic. Go figure.

Fortunately, such attitudes were short lived and in a few decades the Christmas tree became a standard Christmas tradition in American households.

Origin of Tinsel on the Tree

In prior times, it was a tradition of the Christmas holiday to bring the family animals into the house on Christmas Eve to view the tree. The people thought this was appropriate since the Christ Child had been born in a stable in the presence of animals, after all. Legend has it, however, that the housewives refused to let the spiders into their homes to view the Tree because they hated and feared the pests. So, one Christmas Eve the spiders went en masse to the Christ Child and complained. Feeling sorry for the spiders, the Christ Child left them in to see the tree after everyone had gone to sleep. In their excitement the spiders crawled all over the tree and left strands of webbing behind. The next morning when the household awoke, they were not appalled, but thrilled, at the sight of the spiders’ webs — as the Christ Child had turned them to sparkling silver. Thus was born the tradition of placing tinsel on the tree.