Why do so many people have to deal with the mess of dried pine needles and the risk of a fire on Christmas?
When I strap a fir tree to the hood of my car, I sometimes wonder if I should just buy an artificial tree and not worry about it. I have to remind myself that I am participating in one of the oldest religious traditions in the world after my inner historian scolds me. Giving up the tree is a ritual thatpredates Christmas.
At one time or another, almost all of the societies in the world venerated the Sun in their pantheon of gods.
Major events took place when the Sun is at its highest and lowest points. The winter solstice, when the sky is its lowest point, has been celebrated in many societies.
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Whether as palm branches gathered in Egypt in the celebration of Ra or wreath for the Roman feast of Saturnalia, evergreens serve as symbols of the perseverance of life during the bleakness of winter.
Christmas came a long way down the road. The English word Christmas would not appear until over 1000 years after the original event, and the date was not fixed on the calendar.
Many Europeans carried over traditions from winter solstice celebrations, which were notoriously rowdy. The 12 days of Christmas are actually from ancient Germanic Yule celebrations.
The Christmas tree is one of the most visible remnants of those ancient celebrations. The title of the original German tune is simply "Tannenbaum," meaning fir tree, rather than "O Christmas Tree." There is no reference to Christmas in Anschtz's carols, which is based on a folk love song. The song praises the tree's hardy nature during the dark and cold winter.
The Christmas tree was given a boost when it was used to replace Nativity scenes. Martin Luther is said to have added candles.
The English Puritans banned it in the 1650s due to its lack of biblical legitimacy. The Puritans in Massachusetts fined anyone who was found observing Christmas or the like, either by forbearing of labor, feast, or any other way.
The practice of trees in the New World was made possible by German immigration. According to Benjamin Franklin, at least one third of Pennsylvania's white population was German before the American Revolution.
The German tradition of the Christmas tree blossomed in the United States because of Britain's German royal family.
English kings weren't allowed to marry Catholics since 1701. There were eligible Protestant princes and princesses in Germany. Queen Victoria, who had a German mother as well as a German grandmother on her father's side, made the tradition of a Christmas tree public.
The morality that dominated middle-class life during the era was shaped by Victoria's style of rule. Charles Dickens wanted to transform Christmas into a family day in which the people of the industrialized nation could relax and give thanks.
A Christmas Carol, in which the miserly Scrooge found redemption by embracing Dickens' prescriptions for the holiday, was a hit with the public. There are no Christmas trees in the hand-colored illustrations Dickens created for the book.
The fir tree was added to family celebrations by Victoria. Although Christmas trees had been part of private royal celebrations for decades, an 1848 issue of the LondonIllustrated News depicted Victoria and her family decorating one as a family at Windsor Castle.
The cultural impact was very fast. The English-speaking world began to see Christmas trees in homes. Two years later, Dickens wrote a short story called A Christmas Tree.
The middle class in America generally embraced all things Victorian during this time.
The author of the children's poem "Mary had a Little Lamb" used her position as editor of Godey's Ladies Book to advance a reformist agenda. Thanksgiving was adopted as a national holiday in 1863.
The Christmas tree is close by.
In 1850, Godey's published an engraving of Victoria and her Christmas tree, which became a mainstream middle class practice. Hale helped popularize the family Christmas tree across the pond.
Christmas was a federal holiday in the US in 1870.
Christmas trees were put up in the US in the 20th century. The first one appeared on the White House's South lawn in 1923. New York's Rockefeller Center began to build larger trees during the Great Depression.
Even countries that are not predominantly Christian started to see Christmas trees in communal spaces due to the influence of both American and British cultures. There are trees in shopping districts in Hong Kong and Tokyo.
Both religious and secular meanings can be found in the Christmas tree. They are adorned with lights and offer light in the dark time of year.
The Christmas tree has come a long way.
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