A highly decorated evergreen tree, with colored lights ablaze inspires warm memories of Christmases long past for many people. The Christmas tree has become one of the best know festive symbols.
The tradition of using evergreen festive trees and decorating with branches of evergreen trees has played an important part in seasonal or new year celebrations for many centuries having been well established since ancient times.
Well before the advent of Christianity, evergreen plants and trees had a special meaning for mankind. Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine, fir or spruce trees, ancient humans hung evergreen boughs over their entrances. In many regions it was believed that evergreens would keep away evil spirits, witches, illness and even ghosts.
In the Northern hemisphere, the winter solstice (the shortest day and longest night) falls on December 21 or December 22. Ancient peoples believed that the sun was a god and that winter came every year because the sun god was sick. They celebrated the solstice because the sun god would begin to revive. Evergreen branches foretold of the green plants that would again grow when the sun god was stronger.
Romans marked the solstice with a feast in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture. The solstice meant that farms and orchards would soon be green and fruitful. So they decorated their homes and temples with evergreen branches. Also the Druid priests of the ancient Celts, decorated temples with evergreen trees branches as a symbol of everlasting life.
So decorations of, and with, evergreen trees have long been a part of the celebration of the new season and the worship of god. The use of a Christmas trees indoors seems to have begun by German Christians. Where evergreen trees were scarce the families would build a symbolic tree from simple wooden pieces which they decorated with branches and candles.
The modern Christmas tree tradition eventually spread throughout Europe. German Prince Albert, husband of popular British monarch Queen Victoria, decorated the first English Christmas Tree with candles, candies, fruits, and gingerbread at Windsor Castle in 1841. This greatly helped to popularize the modern Christmas tree in Commonwealth and English speaking countries like Australia, Canada England, New Zealand and USA.
German immigrants who went to American also took their Christmas tree tradition. Such Christmas trees were often decorated with nuts, fruit cookies, and candles. The invention of the light bulb and electricity in the 20th century enhanced the sparkle of Christmas trees and solidified their images.
In most communities throughout Australia, North America and Europe it is now common to see public displays of community Christmas trees. Additionally many communities have enthusiastic festive season revelers who join with their neighbors in decorating their homes, and their yard trees, to such an extent that their local area becomes a nightly tourist attraction where people drive by to see all of the lighting spectacles.
Source: www.santaswarehouse.com.au
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