Topic: Christmas Tree And Christmas Traditions, Part 2 Of 2

Another custom was to be found in the homes of Christians on Dec. 24 since the late Middle Ages. A large candle called the "Christmas light," symbolizing Christ who is the light of the world, was lit on Christmas Eve. In western Germany, many smaller candles were set upon a wooden pyramid and lit. Besides the candles, other objects such as glass balls, tinsel, and the "star of Bethlehem" were placed on its top. (18)

Though we cannot be certain, it seems highly likely the first Christmas trees that appeared in Germany in the early sixteenth century were descendants of both of these customs: the Paradise tree and the Christmas pyramids and lights. The Paradise tree became our Christmas tree. Decorations placed on the pyramids were transferred to the Christmas tree.

For many Christians the Christmas tree still retains the symbolism of the Paradise tree. The tree reminds us of the tree in Eden by which Adam and Eve were overcome and which thrust them into sin. But more importantly, the tree reminds us of the tree by which our sin was overcome, namely the tree upon which Christ Jesus was crucified. Is it a stretch to refer to the cross as a tree? Hardly, for this is the language of the New Testament itself! For example, Paul writes in Galatians 3:13, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree" (quoting Deut. 21:23). And Peter writes, "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed." Therefore, the Christmas tree is a wonderful symbol and reminder of our salvation and forgiveness through Jesus Christ!

Some other interesting but unsubstantiated facts about the Christmas tree,

--- The first retail Christmas stand was set up by Mark Carr in New York City in 1851;
--- Franklin Pierce was the first president to introduce the Christmas tree to the White House in 1856 for a group of Washington Sunday School children;
--- The first lighted Christmas tree in public was in Boston in 1912
--- The first national Christmas Tree was lighted in the year 1923 on the White House lawn by President Calvin Coolidge.

1. Clement A. Miles, Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, Christian and Pagan (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1912).
2. Such as, A. Tille, Die Geschichte der deutschen Weihnacht (Leipzig, 1893); A. Tille, Yule and Christmas: their Place in the Germanic Year (London, 1899); H. F. Feilberg, Jul (Copenhagen, 1904); E. K. Chambers, The Medieval Stage (Oxford, 1903).
3. Francis X. Weiser, Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1958).
4. Sheryl Ann Karas, The Solstice Evergreen: The History, Folklore and Origins of the Christmas Tree Rev. Ed. (Fairfield: Aslan Publishing, 1998).
5. The story has appeared in many forms. Here is how it appears in Karas, 111: "One clear cold Christmas Eve the famous Reformation leader Martin Luther was walking home through the woods. As it was a beautiful starry night, he paused for a moment to gaze at the sky in reverent meditation. He was in a grove of tall pines .. From where he stood it looked as though thousands of stars had settled on their branches. He proceeded to cut a tiny tree and took it home where he decorated it with small candles in metal holders to recreate his experience for his children. That glittering tree became a tradition for his family in the many Christmasses to come just as it has for many other families around the world."
6. Another pure legend that is sometimes passed off as historical fact is the story of St. Boniface. As one web page puts it: "The first Christmas tree is said to have originated in 8th century Germany when a British missionary, St. Boniface, cut down a giant oak that crushed every tree in its path except a small fir sapling. Considering this a miracle, St. Boniface called it "the tree of the Christ child."
7. J. Lefftz and A. Pfleger, eds., Els?ssische Weihnacht, hereafter EW (Kolmar, 1941), cited in Weiser, 100.
8. Quoted in Miles, 265. The manuscript can be found in EW, 53.
9. Miles, 265, quoting from Tille, Deutschen Weihnachten, 259.
10. Weiser, 101, citing EW 55. A later explicit mention of candles on a Christmas tree occurred in a Latin work on Christmas presents by Karl Gottfried Kissling of the University of Wittenberg, written in 1737. See Miles, 266.
11. Karas, 106.
12. Though Miles claims it was alluded to as early as 1789.
13. As laid out in Weiser, 101. See also Miles, 267.
14. Karas, 3-5.
15. Miles, 268.
16. Karas, 103-104.
17. This is the thesis of Weiser, 98-100, which, in my opinion, is the most convincing.
18. According to Weiser, pictures of these "Christmas pyramids" can be seen in O. Huth, Der Lichterbaum (Berlin, 1943), 72ff.
19. Weiser, 102.

Article Reference:
Title: The History Of The Christmas Tree
Data Source: Http://users.rcn.com/tlclcms/writings.html
Article Date: Nov 2000

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