The Tradition Of The Christmas Tree

Traditions nearly always begin for a reason that is long past. We often keep up these traditions with little knowledge of where or why they originated

During the winter long before Christmas became a holiday as we know it today, branches of evergreens were used to decorate the home because people believed they would keep witches, ghosts, evil spirits and illnesses away from homes where they were displayed.

The tradition of bringing a live tree into the home and decorating it at Christmas time started in Germany. It is believed that Martin Luther, the 16th century Protestant reformer was the first to add lighted candles to the tree. He wanted to recapture the sparkling stars on a dark night and how the stars illuminated his walk home, so he brought a tree into his home and placed it in the center of the room. He then wired the tree branches with lighted candles.

Of course it wasn’t too long before America got involved. By 1890, Christmas decorations were arriving in America from Germany and the Christmas Tree became a feature in the U.S. In the early 20th century most Americans were decorating their trees with homemade ornaments. The Americans tended to prefer trees that reached from floor to ceiling, whereas in Europe the preference was for something less ostentatious.

The homemade ornaments were simple yet effective and included strings of popcorn that had been dyed bright colors and in addition were laced with berries and nuts. Lighted candles soon gave way to the safer option of electric lights and the Americans soon developed this well established tradition to include Giant Christmas Trees in town squares in addition to those now found in most American homes.

The Christmas Tree today is a very important part of the celebration of Christmas. The tree symbolizes life.