The Christmas Tree as an Icon

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum, Wie treu sind deine Blätter!

The Christmas Tree is probably one of my favorite aspects of the secular part of the Christmas season.   The tree itself is majestic - with all of its lights and ornaments brightening up the living room. For my own part, I can stare at the tree for hours, as it serves as a sort of looking glass - bringing back a lot of cheerful childhood memories about Christmases past.

Perfect Tree

A lot of the ornaments on our tree have been in the family for a long time - some likely belonged to my Grandmother, while others are under 50 years old.  Our Angel is incredibly old and I can remember her flying atop of so many of our family Christmas Trees.  There are other tributes on the tree which make acknowledgement to relatives no longer with us, and even to pets that have passed away. 

So amongst the glass bulbs, handmade ornaments, snowman, stars, and images of Christmas, are the memories that go along with them.  And there is always room for more.

Origin of the Christmas Tree

In a lot of these essays, I've gone into quite a bit of detail about the history of traditions and elements of Christmas.  When it comes to the Christmas Tree, one could write hundreds of pages about its origin.  I'm going to attempt to bring the history down to a few paragraphs instead of drumming on for pages with facts and dates and assumptions about historical firsts.

Like many elements of the Christmas Holiday,  the Christmas Tree has a slight connection to early Pagan celebrations.   It's well known that Pagan celebrations included paying patronage to the natural beauty around them - plants, animals, and the forces of nature including the basic elements of fire, water, wind and Earth.  Therefore, the incorporation of trees into their celebrations is not unexpected.  As for whether or not you legitimately draw a connection between Pagan practices and the Christmas Tree - well, that's a different story.  Much of what I've read on this topic is purely anecdotal. 

Although, I readily agree that the early Christian Church was quite willing to incorporate many of the Pagan traditions into Christianity, and Christian practices.  After all, there was really no harm in doing so, as it made Christianity far more acceptable to the masses during periods of early Christian conversion.  I've written a lot about Yuletide in this respect, and its evolution to Christmastide. Obviously the transition wasn't perfect, but the connection to the celebrations of old were so strong that either became incorporated into the Christian teachings, or were given new symbolic meaning along the way. 

But if you think about it, the inclusion of trees, and the decorating of them as part of any cultural celebration in areas where large Pine and Evergreen Trees are found doesn't really seem extraordinary.   People used what was available to them in their own natural setting. What's more interesting is the ongoing use of the Christmas Tree in present day culture as a symbol of Christmas in places far and wide, including many places where trees do not grow or are not readily available.

First Documented Christmas Tree

It's possible that 
Church Reformer
Martin Luther
could have had
a Christmas Tree

The first decorated Christmas tree can be traced back to 1510 in Riga, Latvia. The practice of placing other natural items such as nuts and fruits, to spruce up the tree (no pun intended) was around Christmastime in the region.  The idea caught on and spread throughout northern Germany and into the Rhine region.  It's also alleged that Martin Luther attached small candles to the trees thus creating the first lit Christmas tree.

If indeed, Martin Luther did include decorative Christmas Trees as part of his Christian community's Christmas observance, then it would be considered a very significant point in history to ponder.  If you consider all of the reforms that Luther made to dramatically change the Christian and cultural landscape - such as unify Germans to speak a common language, translate Biblical text so it could be read by the masses, and offer a more inclusive and interactive worship for Christ's followers, then it would be no surprise that he would be given some credit for helping to formalize the Christmas Trees's acceptance, particularly amongst Protestant reformers and followers. 

Church records indicate that a Christmas Tree was used in the Cathedral of Strasbourg in 1539.  This is likely one of the first records that a Tree was used inside a Holy Structure as part of Christmas celebration.

By the 1600s, Christmas Trees were in use in mostly the Alsace Region as a part of the  public display.  The practice of how and when to decorate the Tannenbaum was unique to various regions.  And it wasn't until the 1700s that the practice was spread, mostly by Prussian Authorities, over Northern Germany.  Finally, by 1800 the Catholic Church recognized the Christmas Tree as part of the distinct ritual of the Christmas Eve Celebration.  And here we note that unlike what we do today in the United States - which is rush to put up the Tree shortly after Thanksgiving, the Christmas Tree then and still today in parts of Germany is put up on Christmas Eve and even decorated by parents so that children awake to find the tree adorned with lights, bulbs, and small presents.

Christmas Trees come to America

It's probably not a huge surprise to learn that with German settlement of North America came the Christmas Tree and many of the Christmas practices still being used today. 

There are two documented recognitions of the first Christmas Trees in America.  The first was in 1747 in Bethlehem Pennsylvania, said to have been erected by a German Moravian Settlement.  But it was claimed to be not a decorated tree per se, but rather a number of large pine branches placed over a wooden structure shaped like a pyramid.


Hessian Troops likely brought
the Christmas Tree tradition
to the American Colonies in the
early 1770s

The second reference is more likely evidence of the use of a real Christmas Tree in the modern sense, and is actual local to the Nutmeg State.  As it is well, known, during the American Revolution, the British Army hired well-trained, battle ready German forces (known as Hessian Troops) to assist them to quell the war with the colonies.  A Hessian solider, who was taken prisoner, and placed under house arrest at the Noden-Reed homestead, was said to have erected the first Christmas Tree.

At the end of the Revolution, many Hessians opted to stay in America, and settled areas that had a large German speaking populations, such as Pennsylvania.  No doubt that this also had some reinforcement of German traditions on American society.

There are dozens of other stories that claim to be firsts, but since many occur in the 1800s, its unlikely that they hold water as the the "first", although there may be some distinction between one or another, that each town historian (or tourist bureau) may find it worthy of claiming some rival challenge to those that I've posted above which are likely original. 

There is a footnote of sorts to the American story.  We also know that Christmas Trees might have appeared much sooner as an American Christmas tradition had not Puritans - who were well aware of the European-Germanic practice, banned the Christmas Tree in many settlements in New England.  The Puritans saw the tree as Paganistic and a form of idolatry which would not be tolerated whatsoever.  Not to be outdone, the Roman Crucifix also fell in the same category to most Puritan sects as did the Tree.

Christmas Trees come to England (finally)


The beautiful Queen
Charlotte of Mecklenburg

Strangely enough, the Christmas Tree seems to have been in full use in most of central Europe, including northern states like Denmark, Holland, and lower states such as Austria and the Hungarian region by at least the 1800s (likely much sooner as I've mentioned above), yet England seemed to have not taken on the tradition until quite late.  And once again it was the Germans who exported the tradition westward to their neighboring nation-state.

As we know, England's George III married Queen Charlotte of Mecklenberg-Strelitz and the Queen introduced the English Royal family to the tradition of the Christmas Tree in the 19th Century.  Historical diaries also show that as a child at age 13, Queen Victoria made reference to seeing presents around the Christmas Trees on Christmas Eve in 1832.

Godey's Lady's Book
Engraving (1850)

In 1841, Victoria married Prince Philip, and the Christmas Tree became a formal part of the English Christmas landscape.  Further a woodcarving with the Royal Family surrounded by Christmas Trees at Windsor Castle was circulated, and copied ushering the tradition of Christmas Trees which was in turn adopted by the masses.  The image was printed in the book Godey's Lady's Book around 1850.

The same printed image was also distributed in the United States, and modified - removing the mustache of Prince Philip.

We can thank both Queen Charlotte and Queen Victoria for bringing the tradition of the Christmas Tree to Great Britain, and helping to cement its symbolism into the western Christmas tradition.  The republishing of the above mentioned engraving in American newspapers and periodicals likely helped to spread the impression of the Christmas Tree in one's home as an established custom.

Final Note on Christmas Trees

Today, we proudly display our Christmas Trees in our homes and in public places  such as town greens and in town buildings (although recently and quite markedly after hundreds of years of wide-spread acceptance of their public display, anti-Christian groups have forced its removal from public areas).  In most normal regions of the United States, the tradition of Christmas Trees continues, bringing smiles to the young and old.  Whether the trees are freshly cut evergreens, or those of the artificial variety - we all agree that Christmas would never be the same without them!

The original blog article can found at my blog Random Selection which is located at  www.randsel.blogspot.com

ORIGINS OF THE CHRISTMAS TREE

We start out with trees because that's how the ornament idea itself started. And, since trees are such an integral part of our tradition, it's worth noting why we have them, and how ornaments came to be inseparable from them.

As with many customs or traditions of today, the Christmas tree has its origins rooted in a number of regional practices that have since settled into a few basic versions.

Some say that the tree represents the one whose wood was made into a cross and used to crucify Jesus of Nazareth. Others say that its origin goes back to the original Tree of Knowledge and that is why so many early decorations were apples. Those who point to the ancient Roman celebration of Saturnalia as a source for our contemporary trees note the evergreens were used as decoration during that long ago holiday that ended on December 25. The evergreen theme continues to weave its way through the history of Christmas trees as a symbol of the promise of life to come after months of cold winter. This particularly holds true in Germany, the home of many of the legends we still honor in one way or another.

Over the centuries various saints have been associated with Christmas trees. An illustration from around 1600 A.D. shows St. Christopher with the Christ Child riding on his shoulder and passing under a leafless tree that has a variety of fruit, candy, baskets and what looks suspiciously like glass ball ornaments hanging from it. It took more than two centuries and a transformation from deciduous to evergreen for the idea to more fully take hold, however.

Another saint ties together both the concept of the Christmas tree and the date when Christmas is celebrated. Joseph of Arimathea is said to have gone to Britain around December of 63 A.D. to bring Christianity to the Britons. By then an old man, Joseph carried a staff to aid in walking. Upon reaching the crest of a bluff above where his boat had landed, the tired and cold Joseph thrust his staff of hawthorn into the ground where it immediately took root and bloomed. While Britain had other varieties of hawthorn, this particular bush was the only one to bloom at Christmas time.

But what was "Christmas time"? According to the Christian calendar, Christmas was observed on December 25. But the creators of the calendar did not take into account the actual length of a year (a little more than 364 and a quarter days) so that by the late 1500s the calendar and the earth were ten days out of sync. Pope Gregory decreed that those ten days would not occur in the year 1582 so Catholics everywhere turned the pages of their calendars that year from October 5 to October 15.

It took until 1752 for Britain to adopt the Gregorian calendar (politics - and reality - playing a large part, for by then the gap between what the calendar said, and what the physical date was, had widened to eleven days) so on December 25 of that year, the hawthorn (by then known as the Glastonbury Thorn) didn't bloom. It was not until January 5 that its blooms opened and now, an additional two-and-a-half centuries later, it waits at least until the 7th.

Despite the Glastonbury Thorn, Christmas trees remained pretty much a German institution. By the early 1800s evergreens, often first, were found in German homes decorated with apples (going back to the Garden of Eden idea), nuts and berries. Sometimes these decorations were eaten by the children of the family; sometimes they were saved to be shared with birds and squirrels after the celebration was over. Over time, these decorations were augmented by paper streamers which were reminiscent of the hair of the angles who had "decorated" the tree and that had been caught in its branches. Paper versions of apples and other fruit became popular when the real articles were unavailable.

Candle lights were added to Christmas trees as an attempt to further explain the story of Christmas. Again, however, legend plays an important part in determining how generations of people either did, or didn't, light their trees. Martin Luther is said to have been the first to add lights to his tree in order to give his children a better understanding of the stars in the Heaven from which Jesus came. Whether true or not, it might help explain why, for decades, lighted Christmas trees were thought to be an integral part of the Protestant celebration of Christmas and thus were considerably less popular in Catholic homes and churches.

Around the midpoint of the Nineteenth Century, in addition to candle lights - or not - decorations hanging from Christmas trees included miniature replicas of fruit, animals, toys, musical instruments and angels made primarily out of materials available in homes.

By this time the idea of the Christmas tree had already made its way to Britain. Queen Victoria included a Christmas tree as a part of the Royal Family's celebration of Christmas in 1840 in honor of her German-born husband, Prince Albert.

In the United States immigrants from Germany had also introduced the idea of the Christmas tree as an integral part of their holiday festivities. Adoption in this country was extensive, aided perhaps by the publication of Kris Kringle's Christmas Tree in 1845.

The first Christmas tree to appear in the White House was erected in 1856 by President Franklin Pierce. The first truly national Christmas tree was inaugurated by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913, but it was not until President Calvin Coolidge moved the tree to its present location near the White House - and ceremoniously switched on the newly installed electric lights - that the idea of an "official" tree took hold.

Christmas trees were not limited to a place of honor in the home. Community trees not only became symbols of holiday spirit and civic pride, but also served as the only source of a tree for the estimated eighty percent of Americans at the turn of the Twentieth Century who did not, or could not, have a tree in their homes. Today, more than 85 percent of Americans have at least one Christmas tree in their homes each year, about half of them real and the other half replicas of trees. And electric utility companies take in an estimated $30 million in additional revenue.

The Changing Nature of Christmas Trees

Natural

Americans' taste in trees has ranged through a variety of evergreens over the years, refined - or at least influenced - by illustrations in popular magazines, such as Colliers, Look, Life, Ladies Home Journal and others, of "the tree for this season.

"Ecology, too, has played a part in the type of tree in people's homes. President Theodore Roosevelt decided that America's forests were in danger of being over cut because of the increasing popularity of Christmas trees and banned their appearance in the White House in 1900. His advisors then showed him research that not only were sufficient trees available in the wild but that farms devoted to the raising of trees solely for use at Christmas represented a growing economic segment. The fact that his sons had smuggled a tree into their bedroom may have also had some influence.

Artificial - metal and other materials

Bringing a cut tree, even one that is freshly cut, into an enclosed space such as a living room or parlor, presents inherent challenges in keeping the tree watered sufficiently to retain its needles.

Initial efforts to create artificial trees were made by companies that also made industrial-strength bottle brushes. Even heavily sprayed with early pine-scented air fresheners, these left much to be desired. Since then, artificial tree manufacturers have turned to more sophisticated materials that much more closely replicate the look and feel of nature. Many families now avoid the necessary assembly of their artificial tree by storing tree - and decorations - fully assembled in the attic or basement.

In the late'Fifties and early 'Sixties the advent of aluminum trees occurred as the "modern" answer to watering and needle drop... and as a companion to the design craze that aluminum was the design answer to every housewife's dream.Designed to be illuminated by a colored spot light, or a revolving color wheel, aluminum trees also called for specially designed ornaments.

Follow our SM Supermalls Christmas Facebook fan page for the latest updates from all SM Supermalls nationwide!!!!

Source: The Ornament Shop